Love in Darkness
by nemaara
Summary: With strange things brewing in Gotham, Robin takes Raven with him to help Batman investigate events related to the Church of Blood and Trigon. Robin/Raven. Rated M for suggestive themes and violence.
1. Eventide

Disclaimer: Teen Titans isn't mine

I really should be updating my other stories, but low motivation to write and the fact that nobody's reviewing = I probably need a break from them anyway. (Actually, not nobody. To those of you who loyally review the stuff I write, I luv you guys. I really do. ... I probably bitch too much.) Anyway...

This one is going to be a relatively short fic featuring Robin/Raven and will be heavy on romance (for me). Most of it will take place in Gotham and will revolve around two sequences of events, one of which involves the Church of Blood. That's all I'll say for now - any more would ruin the story.

On a final note - this story is rated M for suggestive themes and violence, like most of my other ones. However, there will not be any lemons.

Happy reading

"Speech"

_Thoughts _

* * *

_Inferno._

_No longer in her room, with the quiet, peaceful darkness about her. _

_Danger flooded her senses - suddenly, she was on guard, her body tensed with readied magics, but the sheer heat from the fire around her disrupted her focus. A column of magma burst from the ground, then another, and another, and everything began crumbling away, leaving nothing but a thin, winding path of scorched rock above a sea of roiling lava. _

_She took a deep breath, quelling her fear as she looked down._

_And then gave off a panicked cry as the path behind her dissolved in a wave of magma. She lurched forward, got to her feet quickly, and began running, trying to summon her powers to her, but they refused to respond. _

_A wave of heat burst through her senses and she fell back, staring wide-eyed at the lava rising up in front of her, blocking her path forward. Instinctively, she turned, looking for a way to escape, but the burning liquid had already destroyed most of the path, still rising up in massive columns from the sea below, causing more and more of the rock to crumble away. She felt something gnawing at the pit of her stomach, but closed her eyes, trying to keep calm._

_"Azarath metrion zinthos. Azarath metrion zinthos. Azarath metrion-"_

_Suddenly the path exploded and she was launched far into the air, over the boiling lava below. Her eyes darted back and forth, looking for something, anything to latch onto so that she might not be burned alive, and after a moment, she noticed that the magma actually dropped off in a massive waterfall a little ways forward, with several rocky ledges jutting out from its sides. _

_She fell rapidly, barely sailing over the edge of the molten cliff, the edge of her cloak barely catching the surface of the molten rock, searing the edges. She gritted her teeth and reached for one of the rocks jutting out from the side of the precipice, but missing it, crashed into a nearby wall and began falling again, feeling slightly dazed._

_She looked down, noting that she still had quite a distance to fall before she hit the bottom, and tried to keep calm, collecting her senses together. A second effort, and she shifted in mid air, changing her trajectory slightly, and managed to land right on top of a wide ledge, feeling the shock of the impact shake through her body._

_Several minutes passed with her just laying there, taking deep breaths, but coming up with only a burning sensation in her lungs - the sweltering heat around her would not let up and did nothing to help her recover from the physical impact of her fall. But eventually, she gathered her strength together and looked up, finding a shadowy figure standing above her. _

_A shadowy figure with four, gleaming, crimson eyes._

_She gasped - and that quickly changed into a growl. "Trigon!"_

_A low, dark chuckle responded. "Daughter."_

_He held up a glowing, blue-green orb with intricate designs all over it, and for a while, she stared at it, not realizing quite what it was. Until he moved forward, past her, and held it over the edge of the precipice. _

_"The Earth was supposed to be mine," he grumbled. "But I suppose I can settle for destroying it as well."_

_Raven's eyes widened. That thing in his hand was... the Earth? Yes, it certainly looked like it, now that he mentioned it. The streaks of white above its surface - clouds - the flowing blue areas, the oceans, and the green, the land, in the shape of the continents... and the screams that suddenly echoed off its surface as he let it fall-_

_"No!" Raven shouted and rushed past him, diving for the colored orb. _

_She caught up quickly and cradled it in her arm, looking for another place to land, but the ground caught up with her quickly and she braced herself for the impact, gasping as her back made contact with the hard rock first, a sharp pain tearing through her. She gave off a soft whimper, holding back tears as the agonizing feeling of the scorching ground seared the skin on her back, but found that she could not move - had she broken her spine? She closed her eyes, biting her lip._

_"A valiant effort," the voice from before sounded above her, and she felt the weight in her arms lifted away-_

_Her eyes shot open and with a tremendous effort, she reached out and grabbed at an ankle, stopping the shadowy figure from leaving. "I... won't... let you-"_

_Trigon wrenched his foot from her grasp easily. "Foolish daughter. How many more times do you need to fail before you give up?"_

_"I haven't failed," she hissed through gritted teeth, fighting at the pain tearing through her body, rising to all fours. _

_"But you have," Trigon's eyes gleamed wickedly as he gestured forward, toward the edge of a second cliff. _

_Raven's eyes followed his finger and she gasped as she saw a stone statue - a very recognizable stone statue, one who's face was contorted in an eternal howl of terrible pain, its face glazed over with a mask of death..._

_"Robin!" She rushed toward the statue, placing a hand on it, trying to search for a sign of life within. _

_But then she was wrenched back as Trigon grabbed at her hood, throwing her to the ground. _

_"As I said, you have failed."_

_The demon lord held her down with a foot, and as she continued to struggle, dropped the blue-green orb down the second abyss, then in a smooth gesture, pushed the statue over as well. And then after a few moments, he let her up and she rushed over to the edge, looking down. _

_Both objects hit the surface of the sea of magma below, floating for just a moment, then oozing down into the molten rock, dissipating. _

_Her eyes widened and suddenly she felt sheer rage tear through her body, two eyes multiplying into four, skin turning a pale red, nails lengthening to claws, teeth sharpening into fangs -_

_"Trigon!" She growled, but he merely laughed._

_"Failed," he repeated. "You have lost your friends, your world, and even your humanity. You have failed on all accounts."_

_She rushed at him with a terrible sense of bloodlust consuming her mind, but he caught her wrist easily and pushed down, breaking it with a nasty crack. And then tossed her over the edge as well. Heat and burning liquid filled all of her senses as she fell, seeing nothing but the surface of the magma below her, death waiting to embrace her in its fiery grasp..._

* * *

Raven woke up with a gasp, sitting up instantly. Her eyes darted about wildly, still filled with the image of the magma, of the storming fires, but after a moment, that faded and she was back in the darkness of her room.

_Back in my own room. Everything's still here. Still safe... _

She took several deep breaths, then got up, wiping the sweat off her face with a towel and drawing her cloak about her. She stared into the mirror for a moment, and seeing her own two - violet - eyes, stare back at her, she felt a tiny sense of relief come over her and left her room.

It was quiet. It must have been three or four in the morning, so everyone was probably still asleep - _thankfully. After that dream, I really don't think I could handle one of Beast Boy's jokes. __  
_

She closed her eyes, letting her other senses guide her through the darkness and made her way to the common room, toward the kitchen, filling a kettle with water and setting it on the stove. And then froze in place as the doors slid open again and someone else wandered in.

He didn't notice her - she blended in perfectly with the darkness - and also he seemed to be distracted, agitated about something from what she could sense. Not angry, necessarily, just irritated, maybe a little frustrated, maybe a bit... afraid? A faint sense of his emotions, but they were enough to throw her slightly off, probably since her control over her own emotions was still a little weak from that dream...

Raven held a hand to her head and whispered her mantra under her breath several times, trying to avoid the headache that she knew was coming.

Evidently, whoever this guy was heard her, because he suddenly turned and she could see the outline of a cape in the darkness.

"Raven?"

"Robin," she replied curtly, turning back to the kettle, which had begun to boil.

He moved over to her, evidently able to see in the near pitch-blackness of the room. A creature as attuned to darkness as she was. Hell, they even looked similar, both cloaked, thin, dark, almost menacing figures, but when he approached her, it became evident that she was troubled, just as he was.

It wasn't obvious - rarely was anything obvious with Raven - but something about the vacant look in her eyes seemed oddly disturbed.

"Is something... wrong?"

She blew at her tea lightly, then took a sip. "No."

"Why are you up so late?"

Raven raised an eyebrow. "Same to you."

Robin folded his arms over his chest. "You talk and I will."

She frowned. "Guess neither of us is talking then."

He frowned slightly as well. "Fine."

"Fine."

She could sense the agitation rising off of him in waves, increasing exponentially in the silence, amplified into a massive, headache-inducing tumor from the tiny pulse of frustration it had been earlier. She grimaced, taking another sip of tea, then realized that she was being somewhat of an asshole to him and looked away guiltily.

Raven reached up into a cabinet and pulled out another mug, dropped a few tea leaves into it and poured some of the warm water into it. And then held it out to Robin, who blinked a few times, staring at it as if he did not know what it was.

She was about to speak, but then he accepted the offer in silence, smiling at her faintly, and sipped at the fragrant liquid as well. She did not smile back, but he felt the tension in her loosen a little and the quiet around them became peaceful, rather than disturbed.

Her eyes met his, glowing slightly in the darkness. Instinctively, he knew that she was trying to tell him something, though she was probably uncomfortable with saying it. He knew not to make the mistake of pressuring or hurrying her; besides, the prickling at the back of his mind was giving him some sense of what she was, or had felt. They had a bond after all. They had had it ever since she had helped save him from his delusions of Slade. Since then, unless she was actively trying to shut him out, he had always had a faint sense of Raven's emotions in the back of his mind.

He found it remarkable, really. Unlike the impression she tended to give off, Raven was far from emotionless... quite the opposite, she felt emotions intensely sometimes, maybe even as intensely as Starfire's, only hers tended to be filled with not joy, nor happiness, but worry, guilt, grief, fear... bearing those emotions in itself was something painful, he understood, but what was amazing about her was how quickly she could quell those feelings and stay calm, centered. Like she was now.

"So much fear..." he closed his eyes. "You were scared. Why?"

Raven turned, lips twitching, but evidently she did not want to reply. Robin stared at her face again, the inscrutable, smooth mask that she was so used to wearing in front of everyone.

He found it odd that everyone tried to get her to open up. That just wasn't who she was. Maybe it was because they were similar in some sense, because they both had pasts that they wanted to hide, or the fact that they _just weren't _people who wanted to share things with other people... whatever the case, he was content that she had simply shown him what she had been feeling, no matter the cause.

She smiled at him slightly - he looked at her, puzzled, then his lips curved up a little as well... he sometimes forgot she was a telepath as well as an empath.

"You don't have to tell me anything," he said softly. "Just know that I'll be here for you if you need me. You're not alone."

She filled his cup again, then her own, sipping at the warm tea. It was silent again for a couple moments. Then, oddly enough, Raven was the first one to talk.

"You were irritated about something."

Robin scratched his head. "I was, wasn't I? I guess I completely forgot about that."

"So what was it?"

He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Something's up in Gotham. Batman called me. He wants my help."

Raven raised an eyebrow. "I heard that you two aren't really on the best of terms. Isn't that why you left Gotham?"

"How do you-" he frowned. "You were inside my mind- you saw that argument?"

Raven shook her head. "I... when I first came to Earth, I asked the Justice League to help me find a way to stop Trigon. I overheard a conversation there."

The masked hero shifted uncomfortably. "You're right. We aren't exactly the best of friends at the moment. Haven't been for a few years," he looked up at the ceiling, keeping his face blank of emotion. And then he looked back at her. "I was going to ask you to come to Gotham with me."

Surprise flitted across her features. "Why?"

"I wasn't even planning on going at first. But then he he showed me this," Robin took out his communicator and pulled up a picture on it.

Raven's eyes widened as she saw the glowing S shape, the thing that had seemed like she had seen so long ago and would never have to worry about again... instantly, she turned away, biting her lip, a storm of thoughts running through her mind. _Scath... Trigon. It can't be just coincidence that I had that dream and this turns up at the same time. There has to be something fishy going on._

_But I thought I got rid of him! _She gritted her teeth together. _If not Trigon, then... _

"The Church of Blood?"

"That's what he thinks, too."

Raven looked at the ground. Robin closed his communicator. "You don't have to come if you don't want to. But I thought that I should at least get involved since we have a little experience-"

"It's fine. This is partially my fault anyway-"

He looked at her sharply. "Raven..."

"Robin," she cut him off. "It _is _my fault to some extent. Anything related to Trigon is." She paused, sighing. "If I had never been born..."

"Raven," he repeated, alarmed at the emotions he could sense through their bond. "_Nothing _is your fault. Nothing was ever your fault-"

"We can talk about this later," she cut him off again. "Or hopefully not at all," she muttered under her breath.

He scowled, but knew that that was her way of telling him not to pry into her mind, at least not for the moment. But he respected that - making her uncomfortable was the last thing he wanted to do. "So you're coming."

"I suppose so. Is that okay?"

"I trust you," Robin said quietly, more to himself than to her. "He won't, of course, but if he rejects you, then I guess he won't be getting my help either."

Raven looked at him thoughtfully for a few moments, studying his emotions. "You're worried that Batman won't want me to help because he doesn't believe in my abilities?"

"No, not that. More like he doesn't want you finding out any secrets."

"How would I find out any secrets? I mean, we'd just be working together for a bit, maybe fighting together if something happened. It's not like I'd be staying over at his house the whole time-"

"Actually, that was exactly what we were going to do."

"Oh." Raven blushed faintly, and Robin nearly laughed.

_Well, that just got a lot more awkward. _

"It's fine," Robin's voice shook with amusement. "He'll just have to deal with it."

"Robin, are you sure-"

"Yes, I'm sure. Raven, we're _friends, _and I trust you. Probably more than I even trust myself. If that's not enough for him, then he'll just have to find help somewhere else."

"... If you say so," she took another sip of tea and looked into her cup - finding it empty, she shook the kettle a bit, and found that it was empty as well.

Robin held his own, half-filled cup out to her, and she looked at him, tilting her head slightly. He shrugged.

"The only reason you ran out so quickly is you shared with me."

Raven blinked. "I don't mind sharing..."

Robin looked back at her oddly, and in the back of his mind, he could sense the other half of that unfinished sentence - _I don't mind sharing... at least not with you. _He couldn't help but grin a little. So he was special.

"Of course you're special," Raven muttered, a little uncomfortably, and there was another awkward silence as they stared at each other.

"... so when do we leave?"

Silence.

She pursed her lips, then moved over to the masked hero, waving a hand in front of his eyes.

"Hello? Earth to Robin?"

"Huh? What? Oh- right. Sorry, got distracted. Um, I was actually going to leave tonight. But since you need to pack, we can delay that until tomorrow."

"No need. I don't really need to take much with me. I'll be ready in an hour."

"Okay, sounds good. Guess I'll leave a note for the team then."

Raven nodded and disappeared in a flash of darkness. Robin stared off into empty space for a few moments, then left as well, wondering at the strange feeling stirring about in his mind and the curiously similar sense that he was getting from Raven. He decided to just pass it off as tiredness.


	2. Twilight

Disclaimer: TT does not belong to me

I apologize for the substandard quality of the previous chapter. One of these days I'll actually revise the things I write... maybe. Hopefully this chapter's better.

One side note - I recommend reading up a bit on Batman/Robin history. I tried to include as many past events as possible, but the fact of the matter is spelling out everything in detail makes the story not flow well and isn't realistic to include in a conversation. The snippets I've put in can be read alone, but probably are more meaningful if you know a bit more detail about their past.

"Speech"

_Thoughts _

* * *

_Gone to Gotham with Raven. Not sure when we'll be back. Until then, Cyborg's in charge. Have fun guys. Oh, and Raven has something to say..._

_Yes, I do have something to say. **Don't **go messing around in my room. Yes, that means you, Beast Boy. I'm warning you. I'll know if you do. And when I get back... _

"Heh. Robin and Raven havin' some fun together-"

Cyborg slapped him on the back of the head. "Quit being so immature-"

Beast Boy snickered. "You were thinking it too-"

The robotic man's face turned slightly red. "Was not-"

"Were too-"

"Friends," Starfire popped up behind them. "I do not understand. What is this 'having fun' you are speaking of?"

The two Titans froze, glanced at each other awkwardly, and whistling, walked away, leaving the confused alien girl to stare at the note alone.

* * *

_Gotham, outer city limits _

Robin appeared out of a mass of darkness and waited patiently as Raven emerged from behind him, her dark eyes the only visible part of her face beneath her hood. He motioned for her to follow and they slipped silently into the city, keeping to the shadows between buildings so that they might not be seen.

They moved quickly and Robin found himself mildly impressed by the ease with which Raven kept up with him as they zigzagged through a maze of alleys. Soon, they found themselves near the bay area and Raven raised an eyebrow as the masked hero dove down toward the waters fearlessly. Rolling her eyes, she stretched out her powers and grabbed his body in a black claw before he could hit the surface.

"Did you forget that I can fly?"

Robin grinned sheepishly. "Whoops."

She joined him momentarily, then turned, finding a small waterfall in front of them. She frowned slightly - it seemed strangely out of place; most natural bay formations usually didn't have different layers to them, but there was a small cliff face here with a pool of water above it that created the waterfall, and it most certainly seemed man made.

"So that's Batman's hideout, then."

Robin nodded, watching her eyes shift back and forth between the water below them and the pool above. He smiled.

"You'd make a good detective."

Raven shrugged. "So, what. Are we allowed to just waltz in or something?"

"Probably. It might have been a while since we last saw each other, but I doubt he wouldn't recognize me."

The violet haired girl shook her head. "That's not what I'm talking about. Before we go barging into his home, don't you think that you should at least introduce me to him first?"

"Ah, well, that's not his home-"

"His base, then."

"Like I said, it's fine. Why're you so nervous?"

"His reputation."

Robin laughed. "He just keeps that up to scare people. Probably does half the work for him, actually. Trust me. You don't have to worry. I already mentioned that I'd be bringing you."

"And he said it was fine?"

"Let's go in."

Raven sighed and brought them forward, raising a barrier to block the waterfall as they passed through it and her eyes widened slightly as she took in the sight before her.

Past a short tunnel, there was a massive, spacious cave with several platforms raised from the waters beneath them, most of them with some sort of vehicle on them, with paths leading toward the edges and to the largest platform near the center, where there appeared to be a complex computer system. Her gaze traveled further and she saw the paths converge near the opposite side, rising up toward a single doorway, probably to Batman's home, she guessed, and then she looked in the other direction and saw another path leading toward several different ledges carved into the cave wall, a forensics lab, an armory, an infirmary... her head tilted upward and her eyes widened a little more as she saw that there were thousands of bats perched on the ceiling, still sleeping peacefully since it was day, but nevertheless seeming a little threatening, or if not that, a little awe-inspiring.

She let them down on the central platform with the computer and continued staring up a faint smile on her lips. She was a creature attuned to darkness, after all, and so it was no wonder that she found this place intriguing, comfortable, though she wasn't entirely sure why. Maybe it was the fact that it was relatively placid, probably because the bats were sleeping, but everything just seemed so _still, _just the way she liked it, with nothing perturbing her aura to stir up her emotions. Well, there was something, a small sense of amusement beside her, but she ignored that, breathing in the quiet comfort, feeling much more relaxed than she normally was.

"You like it here?" A deep rumble of a voice sounded from the shadows and she turned slightly, not recognizing the voice.

Okay, so the amusement she had felt was not from Robin, as she had originally thought. Then it must have been...

"Batman," she murmured, without having to look at him. It was silent for a while, then she remembered he had asked her a question. She nodded almost imperceptibly, but he was a man used to paying attention to details.

"You're... not what I had imagined."

Raven kept her face smooth. "Not your average teenage girl, huh. Comes with being half-demon."

She tore her gaze away from the ceiling and looked into the dark shadows around the cave, finding the outline of a tall, muscular man in the darkness across the path. He looked back at her. Her cloaked figure, like some sort of reaper, only visible because she was standing in a pool of light - he was certain that in the shadows, she would have been as invisible as he was.

He couldn't see her face, but he had other things to work with. Her posture, for one. It bothered him for some reason, not because it made him uncomfortable, but because of what it seemed to connote. Slightly slouched, once she had stopped basking in the placidity of the room, she seemed to tense again, wary of everything around her, looking as if she were some distrustful cat, waiting for an attack.

But the slouch, and her downward gaze... he caught a glimpse of her eyes and thought that they seemed a little sad, though it was hard to tell from the darkness beneath her hood. Her face tilted up a little and caught the light - she had fine facial features, not necessarily the standard definition of beautiful, but there was a life mixed with the gloom of the petite features of her face that made her seem infinitely more interesting and gave her a far broader depth than just the superficial beauty of the models that most people thought were pretty.

Her face was smooth as she looked back at him, and not once did her expression change as they looked at each other. She had good control over her emotions, or at least she was adept at hiding them, but it was always in the eyes, the eyes that gave away what a person was truly feeling. It was amazing, really, the sheer range of feeling that he saw, and how quickly it shifted...

Nervousness, a slightly bright, panicked light in the violet irises, then agitation, her eyes hardened, shifting quickly back to discomfort, and oddly, after that, they seemed to lose all their life and she looked down again, gaze dulled, but a moment later, her body tensed and she looked at him hard, noticing that he seemed to be reading her too easily... far too easily...

Raven turned away. "You don't trust me."

"You understand that feeling."

She nodded again. "I do. But Robin trusts me."

"I trust him," Batman replied. "But not his judgment. He is too rash."

"And you are too calculating," Raven muttered. "You stand in the back and study the situation, taking in every little detail before you even begin to come to a course of action. Like you just did with me."

"Small sample size."

The violet haired girl turned back, gliding slightly forward across the path toward the darkness. "From what I've heard, it seems to be true most of the time."

"Most of the time, yes. The point?"

"The trait of a good detective, I suppose. So what judgment have you made about me?"

"You've been depressed for a long time. Or at least were."

A small frown adorned her features - it did not go unnoticed, and his eyes narrowed very slightly. "Going to talk about it?"

"I'd rather not," she said quietly. "Some things have to be dealt with alone."

"I understand." He paused for a moment, then continued. "You were irritated."

She closed her eyes. "You interrupted the peace," Raven admitted. "It was so tranquil for a while, and then you kind of ruined it."

"This is your definition of tranquil?" He gestured around, up at the bats above her, then to the myriad of unfamiliar devices and machines around her.

She shrugged. "It was quiet. There was a nice feeling to the air."

"It is dark."

"Doesn't mean it's a bad thing."

It was Batman's turn to take a step forward. "You're nervous. I can see the tension in your posture."

"I have to deal with you."

"I see..." He closed his eyes, stopping in place. "You had to deal with me before. You once came to the League asking for help. To fight your father."

Raven's eyes narrowed. "You remember that?"

"I remember every life I fail to save."

"I'm still alive."

He shrugged. "At least at that time, I thought that you would never make it. A lost, poor girl, who merely sought some shelter. But Zatanna and the other magicians would not have you anywhere near us."

"And you did nothing to help on your own."

"You disappeared," Batman grumbled in return, almost defensively. "But I was happy to hear that you managed to overcome your troubles, with the help of my foster son."

"And my friends," she said quietly. "And they were not just troubles. It was the _end of the world. _The-"

"Apocalypse, yes." He took another step forward.

She frowned. "If you know all this, then why are you still suspicious of me?"

"Standard procedure," he replied. "And I'm always generally suspicious of someone very similar to myself. Let me ask you. Do you trust me?"

"In what sense?"

"Would you trust me to guard your back if we got into a fight?"

Raven thought for a moment, then her eyes flashed. "You're right, I don't trust you. Not yet." She took a step forward and now some of his features were visible in the darkness, the broad chest, the strong chin, the triangles of white masking his eyes...

"So we have an understanding then. Trust is built, not freely given."

"I'm not evil-"

"I didn't say you were. There are plenty of 'not evil' people that I wouldn't trust."

"But you're willing to give me a chance?"

"Perhaps."

"You haven't kicked me out," Raven mumbled uncomfortably, looking at the ground. "Unless you're going to..?"

Batman paused, thinking for a moment. "I could have you stay down here, where I could keep an eye on you, but I doubt you want that and Robin would never let me hear the end of it if I did that..."

"You have a house," Raven murmured. "Robin said that he intended for us to stay with you there."

"That would be revealing my secret identity to you, then. And his as well." And then a thought crossed his mind. "Unless you already know..." he moved forward again, almost threateningly, but Raven did not back away, merely steeling herself for whatever was about to come.

"You do know, don't you?"

She bit her lip. "I... was in Robin's mind before. It was to save him from some hallucinations he was having with a man called Slade. I kind of... caught some glimpses of his life and it wasn't like I could just forget I saw them."

"How much did you see?"

Raven shook her head, trying to remember. "Most of it was just flashes. There was a lot of anger at one point, directed at you, I think. He was scared too; there was this clown-"

"The Joker. Go on."

Raven's eyes flashed and then she looked away, not wanting him to see the sadness that suddenly emerged all over her face. "It was from his point of view - I saw two people falling from a trapeze swing... there were so many screams... there was so much chaos, and confusion, but all I remember was feeling a terrible sense of dread and loneliness from him... those people, they were his parents, weren't they..."

Batman did not respond. Raven sighed, closing her eyes. She remained silent, and in the darkness, she could sense his emotions as well, a mix of pity and understanding running through him, directed at Robin, it seemed. And pain. So much pain, and yet he bore it so easily, carrying it as an immensely heavy burden with him, but still not allowing it to slow him down. The knowledge and memories of the past, all of the mistakes, all of the failures, everything that had happened, he carried it without even suppressing it. At no point did he try to ignore the hurt or justify it - it was there, and he simply dealt with it. So he was not quite as cold as he appeared to be.

Her voice was very quiet when she continued. "I figured they were his parents. They were part of a circus... I saw a name, the 'Flying Graysons'. It wasn't hard to figure out who he was after that. Richard Grayson, adopted by billionaire Bruce Wayne, after his parents died in a tragic accident... that was one of the articles I saw posted in his room..."

He nodded. "So you know, then. Fine." He pulled back the mask and stared down at her with a pair of stern, cold, blue eyes, but they twinkled slightly when he saw that she matched his stare, unintimidated. It wasn't every day that he found someone who could match his gaze so easily, much less a small, petite young girl. But there she was, glaring back, waiting for him to speak.

He held out a hand. "Pleased to meet you. I am Bruce Wayne."

She pulled back her hood and shook his hand. "Raven," she said her own name as well, even though she was sure that he already knew it, but she supposed that the little greeting had reduced the frostiness of their initial meeting somewhat. Hopefully.

* * *

She followed him up the stairs from the doorway, emerging into a small hallway, and upon seeing Robin leaning against a wall she felt the tension drain out of her. They rushed toward each other and she couldn't help but feel a sense of relief that he was around again.

He took one look at her face, the tense lines on it, and knew that she was probably more than a little nervous still. "He gave you a lecture on trust, I'm guessing?"

She nodded. Robin sighed. "I'll have to have a word with him."

Raven shook her head. "No, it's fine," she said quickly. "Just- just... stay with me, okay?"

He blinked in surprise. Raven groaned. "Don't take this the wrong way, Boy Wonder. It's just a little more comfortable when you're around - oh, why do I even bother..." she grumbled as he began grinning, but still let him hold her hand, squeezing it for a brief second.

"You're cold," he murmured.

She didn't respond, but looked up at him, and - _wow, how did I not notice that until now? _

"Where's your uniform? _Where's your mask?_"

Robin blushed faintly. "Alfred won't allow them in the house."

"Alfred?"

"The butler. But he's more like an old friend."

"And you listen to him? Last I checked, you were too stubborn to pay attention to any of us-"

"_Nobody _breaks Alfred's rules in the house. Not even ol' Bats does."

Raven sighed and looked down at her own clothes. "I suppose he wouldn't find this acceptable clothing..."

Robin nodded. "No hoods either. Poor etiquette." And then he grinned. "Aw, c'mon Rae. It won't be that bad. You're not half-bad looking."

"Yes," she replied darkly. "Only _half-_bad. Yeah, Raven, you're only _half _ugly."

His grin widened. "It's okay, not everyone can be as beautiful as I am."

She opened her mouth to retort, but then, looking at his face, she turned faintly red and turned away, her mouth snapping shut. Robin laughed.

"See, even you think so-"

"I said nothing of the sort-"

"You thought it-"

"I-" She opened her mouth to make some sort of sarcastic remark, but then her eyes widened as he leaned in close.

"It's fine. I think you're beautiful."

She froze. And then her eyes narrowed as he continued grinning. "Are you _flirting _with me?"

He shrugged. "I'm telling the truth." He looked at her. She stared back, incredulously, at the serious expression on his face, and they stood like that for a moment or two. And then he couldn't help but give her a cocky smirk.

Raven rolled her eyes. "Stupid boys..."

Robin looked like he was about to speak, but suddenly an old man, probably in his 50s or 60s, appeared in a doorway and interrupted him.

"Ah, yes, I was wondering where I would find you two lovebirds-"

"We're not in love!" they both blushed and shouted at him simultaneously.

Alfred smiled. "Yes, yes, of course. But you are both _quite _late to dinner and I do believe that Master Bruce is getting tired of waiting-"

"He didn't start without us?"

"Master Richard, I am sure you know the rules around here. We eat dinner together, like a real family, not a dysfunctional band of superheroes."

"Even if we happen to be..."

Alfred raised an eyebrow. Robin shifted uncomfortably. "Right. Let's go to dinner then."

He moved to go through the doorway, but then Alfred slapped his hand and he winced a little. Robin turned. "Right. Ladies first," he moved aside and gestured toward the door.

Raven gave him an insufferable smirk as she passed by and he swore under his breath before following her.

* * *

And why did he have to sit next to Bruce, of all people? Robin scowled and Batman turned to glance at him, and he knew exactly what that look meant - _we're going to talk later. _He folded his arms over his chest and stared at his food.

He wasn't sure why, but for some reason, he felt a little uncomfortable at the moment. There was something nagging at him in the back of his mind, though he could not identify it, and it was driving him crazy. Strange, because not a couple minutes ago, he had been having fun teasing Raven, and had been quite pleasantly surprised when she had humored him for a bit, but that moment had passed and he felt acutely disturbed. For no apparent reason at all.

Maybe it was the darkness around him; the manor did have this atmosphere to it that could do peculiar things to people if they paid attention to the gloom in the air too much. And he had lived here for many years, so he was more attuned to the darkness, but then again, that was unusual because he should have gotten used to it... no, it wasn't quite that.

In fact, ever since he had come back, he had felt a little bit unsettled. Probably it was the fact that he hadn't left on... well, good terms, exactly, and he and Bruce hadn't really repaired the bridge between them since the time they had left. Yes, there was definitely a bit of discomfort there, and he knew that Batman was feeling it too, even if he appeared to be calm and composed.

He felt distinctly irritated. This, brooding, silent man beside him, whom he didn't hate, actually, if he really wanted to admit it, he wanted to be friends with Bruce again. He wanted them to have a good relationship. But that was like trying to make up with Raven after you trashed her room, insulted her, and left for a couple years. Not that anyone had ever done that - that would be death.

Then again, he supposed nobody else had ever done that to Bruce either. Of course they would be a bit frosty toward each other. But he still felt annoyed. By a lot of things, but also the fact that Raven was sitting across from him, apparently having a good conversation with Alfred about literature, although she still seemed to be looking at him out of the corner of her eyes...

_I wish I were in that seat right now, and she was talking to me... _he turned away, faintly uncomfortable with that thought for some reason, though he wasn't sure why. They were friends, right? So why was it unnatural that he wanted her to talk to him comfortably, like she was with Alfred right now?

Well, partially because she pretty much never talked. And the times she did, she didn't say very much. But wasn't it a little more than that? _Damn it, Alfred. Taking my spot next to her. _And then paused. Was he... jealous? Jealous that she seemed so relaxed, but not because of him... her gaze shifted and he sat back a little, not wanting to meet her gaze.

No, she wasn't relaxed. She was still as tense as ever. But at least she was talking comfortably... and then he wondered why he was unhappy that she was comfortable, if still a bit nervous. He should have been happy that she had found something about this place that she could enjoy, even if it was a conversation with someone else. There was no reason she should have to suffer the rather unpleasant aura around Batman her whole stay... no, that was his job.

"I'm making you uncomfortable," Bruce grumbled quietly.

"How could you tell?" Robin muttered back.

The other man sighed. "I don't want there to be trouble between us, Richard."

"I thought you said we would talk later."

Bruce looked at the plate of food in front of him. "I suppose so. Go back to staring at your girlfriend then."

Robin instantly turned beet red. "She is not-"

"We'll talk later."

Robin hissed, but did not respond, glancing back at Raven, who was giving him a decidedly odd look. She said something to Alfred - he caught two name, Daphnis and Chloe, and recognized it from something Bruce had made him read long ago, a Greek play, if he recalled. She stumbled over a word and her eyes shifted back to him, agitated a little, but otherwise gave no indication that she was paying any attention to him.

He decided to look away as well.

"She seems interesting. I can see why you like her."

Robin's eyes narrowed. "I thought you said we'd talk later."

"It is later."

"Two minutes doesn't count."

It was silent for a moment. He could practically feel the gears turning in Bruce's head as he tried to figure out what to say. The man had never really been the most articulate person - it took him a while to express what he meant in most situations, save for when he was interrogating people (and happened to be remarkably efficient).

"Richard," he said darkly, seriously.

The sudden shift in tone did not go unnoticed and Robin's eyes darted sideways a little... somehow landing straight on Raven again. She was still listening to Alfred say something, but her gaze seemed a little unfocused - her amethyst irises caught his own sapphire ones and locked in place for a moment before she tore away. His mouth twitched and he looked back at Batman.

"... you really are quite obsessive."

"You're one to talk," he muttered, still glancing at Raven out of the corner of his eye.

Bruce laughed quietly. "It makes me happy though."

"What does?"

"That you're more obsessed about a girl than you are with being angry with me."

"I-" He frowned.

That much was pretty true. When they had parted ways - no, when he had left, he did remember being very angry all the time. In fact, if he dared to admit it, if he hadn't had reasons to be mad at Bruce, he had purposely found them just for the sake of being irritable. One of the virtues of being a young man.

Color rose in his cheeks, but he tensed, unable to force the words he wanted to say out. He tore his eyes away from Raven and looked at Batman, eye to eye, cold blue eyes staring into a mirrored gaze.

"Why were you angry with me?"

"Many things."

"I'm not talking about the little reasons. I want to know why-"

"We can talk about it later, in private. They don't need to hear it," he glanced back at Raven. She blinked.

"You don't want _her _to hear it."

"She doesn't need to get dragged into it. This is between us."

"So it is." He paused. "... do you... love her?"

Robin made a strangled noise. "Why do you care? You've been asking me about this nonstop-"

"Hmm. It's because I've had some things happen recently. But like I said, I'll tell you about it... _later._ A word of warning, though. There is this story about a man who did not realize his love for a woman until he lost her. Hmm. I seem to have forgotten the title-"

"... A Hero of Our Time, Mikhail Lermontov..." Raven's voice was suddenly audible from across the table and her eyes glowed slightly as she made eye contact with Robin.

Bruce smirked. "She's listening."

Robin's eyes widened just a fraction. "If you want to talk so much, then why don't we go do that?"

"Alfred wouldn't let us do that. And besides, it is amusing to watch you two. You can't seem to keep your eyes off of each other-"

Raven blushed faintly and looked away, completely this time, and Robin couldn't help but feel a rush of irritation - he scared her off! And now he did not have the pleasure of those small glances from the violet haired girl... he was tempted to say it, but he dared not think about how Bruce would respond to that.

And then abruptly, Alfred spoke from across the table. "I do believe that this young lady has indulged me enough. I shall show her to her room so that she can rest."

Beside him, Raven stifled a - decidedly _fake _yawn, and Robin could have sworn he saw her smile, but it ghosted across her face and her expression was blank a moment later. He raised an eyebrow and Bruce glanced at her suspiciously, though it was gone as quickly as Raven's smile. Alfred led her off, and he turned toward Robin.

"She's going to spy on us."

The younger man frowned. "I don't know about that. She's never shown that much interest in anyone. Not enough to eavesdrop, unwanted-"

"She definitely seems interested in you-"

"Not a chance-"

"Oh come on, Richard. She couldn't keep her eyes off of you."

"That was your imagination. Besides, I thought we were going to talk about other things. Like why you're suddenly so interested in my nonexistent love life?"

Bruce smiled faintly. "Sounds depressing. But yes, I will answer your question. I ran into Selina a couple weeks back."

"She seduced you again?"

"No, no, nothing like that. No," he scratched his head. "We went out."

"You went out," Robin repeated slowly. "You went out... as in a _date?"_

Batman nodded. "I'm supposing it was. We had dinner and went to see a movie."

Robin's lips curved up a little. "Good to see you finally loosening up a bit, old man. So you're wondering if she actually loves you."

"Something like that. But I was also curious."

"About?"

"If that girl-"

"Raven."

"Yes. If Raven actually loves you."

"Probably not. Once you get to know her-"

"You see," he paced back and forth. "The fact that you trust her means nothing to me. Your judgment may have improved over the years, but you are still highly capable of making mistakes-"

Robin frowned, but before he could respond, Batman cut him off.

"Don't take it the wrong way. I make mistakes too. It is impossible to avoid them. Of course, we try to avert failures as much as we can, but part of a person's character is knowing how to rectify them."

"And..?"

He smiled again. "You've proven to be a capable hero. As capable as I am. I don't think I could have handled things better than the way you did."

"You were stalking me?" Robin said somewhat incredulously, though there was a hint of happiness in his voice - he couldn't help but feel a little proud that his former mentor, _Batman, _who only complained about the way others handled things, had just praised him.

"Of course. You didn't think I'd just let you run off and do whatever you wanted, did you?"

"Well, you didn't give me any money to build the Titans' Tower. We had to do it from scratch. Luckily the city helped-"

"I wasn't going to give you money to put up a giant T that would be visible from every corner of the city..."

"Secrecy isn't everything. I've learned that much."

"No, but giving away your location to every villain in a ten mile radius is never good practice."

Robin shrugged. "Well, we have good security."

"I don't doubt that, otherwise you would've had many more problems. You had enough on your hands as it was. Deathstroke, Trigon, the Brotherhood of Evil..."

"Deathstroke?"

"Slade," Batman grumbled grimly. "Most dangerous mercenary on the market. He took down Captain Atom and has a bounty of 2.4 billion dollars on his head. To this date, he has not been caught."

Robin's eyes widened. "Seriously?"

"Seriously. And you guys managed to keep up with him... to a certain extent. But the mere fact that you guys survived impressed many League members, myself included. I thought I was going to have to step in to help."

Robin grinned. "See, told you I'd be fine by myself."

"If I recall, you also stormed out of the manor before I could even respond to you." Bruce closed his eyes. "I always knew you were very capable, Richard. I knew you'd be fine by yourself. I'm sorry for being too controlling. I didn't realize... it's just that night, I lost control of myself, after remembering what happened to Barbara-"

"Bruce." Robin shook his head, a flood of images running through his mind.

He couldn't forget that night... how could he?

A standard fight with the Joker, a standard, try to figure out exactly what the clown was doing, but as Batman had said many times, things were never easy with the Joker.

Somehow, he had ended up alone with the clown, baited into a trap - he knew it was a trap in hindsight - but then, he had thought that he had the villain cornered. Everyone thought that. And everyone was always wrong.

He didn't recall ever being beaten so badly before. Never before then, and never since then had he been beaten so very badly - his fights with Slade had been nothing compared to what the Joker did to him that night. He was barely even conscious when Batman had broken down the door to the room and in one quick movement, slammed the Joker against one wall, but had to turn and let him go when the ceiling began to cave in.

Near death, he recalled only a few garbled words here and there, but the one thing that stuck out in his mind was the fact that Bruce had been extremely angry, _extremely _angry with him, and he remembered hearing something like "if you don't want to stick to the plan, then I cant trust you on these missions. I'll have to find someone else."

And that had been the last straw.

In hindsight, he knew that Bruce had just been worried and didn't know how to show it, but back then, the thought that had run through his mind was something along the lines of _why the fuck is he being mad at me while I'm the one hurt and dying? _Apparently, neither of them were very good at communicating with each other, and given their rather intense personalities, that did not make a good combination. But now, in hindsight, he knew better. Everything in hindsight._  
_

"Bruce," he repeated. "I don't blame you. I left of my own accord. Neither of us behaved very well."

The other man nodded. "I will admit. I was a bit shocked when you left. I... didn't quite know how to deal with it, honestly. Undoubtedly, I was angry for a while."

Robin ran a hand through his hair. "I remember reading in the news about a record number of criminals being locked up in Gotham. Most of them were beaten pretty badly - your doing?"

"I needed to let loose."

Robin clenched his hands into fists, then relaxed. "That's all in the past now. I think I understand why you acted the way you did. Back then-"

Batman held up a hand. "As you just said, let bygones be bygones. Enough thinking about the past."

Robin let out a breath of relief. The sense of discomfort that had been gnawing at his stomach finally disappeared and for once, he felt relaxed, and perhaps a little happy again. For the longest time, they hadn't even spoken to each other, afraid that they might open old wounds and do even more irreparable damage to the shards of the relationship that remained... at least, he knew that he felt that way, and undoubtedly Bruce did too. And so they had remained cold, not speaking, seemingly utterly independent, but it had weighed on his mind, a small nagging feeling always there in the darkness... but now it was gone. He smiled.

Bruce smiled back. "That went a lot more smoothly than I thought it would."

"I never wanted to hate you. It just kind of... happened. Besides, that's what happens when you openly admit your feelings. Hell, if you had told me you felt that way in the first place, I probably never would've left."

"But then you would never have met your new friends."

"I never said I regretted leaving. I just regret that we weren't able to speak to each other this honestly before."

"You have Selina to thank for that. She convinced me to do it."

"Oh, really? You must be getting soft. The Batman I remembered would never let a woman make so much as a dent on his stone heart-"

"We all have our weaknesses. Just take care that yours doesn't become a woman."

Robin laughed. "Even _if _I was in love with her, it wouldn't be a problem. She's stronger than I am. Actually, she's probably stronger than all of the Titans combined."

"You sound very much like you are in love with her."

"Not a chance."

Bruce stared thoughtfully at the ceiling for a moment. "Then let me ask you this. If she loved you, would you reciprocate?"

"That would never-"

"Hypothetically."

Robin's brows furrowed a little and he paced around a little, silent for a couple minutes. "Do I really have to think about this? I mean, we're just friends and I'd never want to ruin that. I know that she doesn't think of me any more than that-"

"You'd be surprised. Here, I'll tell you something good."

"I still say Selina's trying to seduce you-"

"Not at all. She admitted that she had... some feelings for me, ever since we met."

"And she never acted on them before because..?"

"She didn't think I felt the same way. She thought I figured she was just flirting with me."

"She's playing you for a fool."

Bruce smiled faintly. "Go talk to her, if you want. You'll see that I'm not lying. But, the point is, don't assume you know how a woman feels. They are strange breed of creature..."

"Can't disagree with that. But I can't imagine that Raven would-"

"Ask her."

Robin froze, then burst out laughing. "Ask her? I ask her that and I get my head torn off. That'd be like telling the Joker he told a bad joke."

"Then talk to her more. From what you said, you two probably don't talk nearly enough."

The younger man snorted. "We're only good friends because I don't bother her by talking. Besides, there's already plenty that you can figure out just by looking, if you look closely enough."

"All I'm saying is, don't jump to conclusions. Get to know her a bit."

Robin's eyes traveled up toward the ceiling. "The thing about Raven is, there always seems to be more to get to know about her. There's just so much to find out... so many little details." He squinted.

"Makes her interesting, hmm?" Bruce glanced up as well. "I thought you said she wasn't interested enough to spy on us?"

"Probably not. We have this bond-"

"She told me about it."

Robin nodded. "I just felt something. It must have been her."

"Why don't you go find her?"

"Don't know where she is. Which room is she staying in?"

"The one right next to yours."

"I see..."

Batman smirked. "Don't look so disappointed. I'm sure that with enough coaxing, you can get her to sleep with you."

Robin turned crimson. "That's- wait- what- you made a joke?"

The other man turned and began walking away, chuckling slightly.

"Hey!" Robin shouted after him, but he merely waved a hand in reply and continued walking.

Grumbling to himself, he left as well, heading upstairs.

* * *

She wasn't in her room.

He looked at the clock. It was almost midnight; he and Bruce must have talked for quite a long while, so he had expected that she would have gone to sleep, or maybe at least was winding down for the night. But the room looked undisturbed and the bathroom across the hall was empty. So where would she be?

What were the things Raven liked to do?

_Wow... now that I think about it... _he knew almost nothing about her. Other than the fact that she was often moody and silent, or if not that, witty and sarcastic, and the fact that she was strong, really strong, he didn't know much about her. Well, he knew that she liked tea... yes, all of them knew that. And she liked reading.

_Oh of course. She's probably in the library. _

He walked down the hall, turned right and entered a large, a very large, room with rows and rows of bookshelves, all stocked with an assortment of books, magazines, other manuscripts and the like. He passed by a few shelves, moved through one row, toward a circle of armchairs, and found Raven curled up in one of them, a mug of tea in front of her and a book in hand. She was dressed in set of black, fuzzy pajamas, with a blanket pulled up over her legs, and her eyes seemed to be closed - only the tiniest glimmer of violet beneath her eyelids told him that she was still awake and reading. But she looked so comfortable and he knew that he would be bothering her if he interrupted her reading, so he turned to leave.

Abruptly, she closed her book and sat up straight, looking at him expectantly. He decided to take it as an invitation. Moving closer, he noticed that her hair was slightly wet - she had just showered, apparently, and the slight moisture on her skin gave it a glowing, ethereal quality. Yes, there was definitely something otherworldly about her, and it wasn't just the fact that she had violet hair and greyish skin... it was something about the way she looked and acted, so composed, so controlled, despite all the emotions festering inside her. She seemed so distant often times, somewhat at odds with the world around him, very reclusive, disdainful of almost all interaction with other people, and yet he knew that all he had to do was reach out and she would be right there, another, very real body that he could actually touch.

Her small, finely featured face seemed so calm, so peaceful, so perfect in the dim lighting about her, and as her lips curved up slightly - she must've read something funny - he suddenly thought that she was beautiful. Okay, so maybe Raven wasn't necessarily the standard definition of pretty, mostly because she looked far too gloomy for that, but to him, she was absolutely gorgeous.

And then he chided himself for thinking such a thought - what did such a thing matter, anyway? Gorgeous or not, she was his best friend.

"Are you just going to stand there and stare all day?"

Robin blinked a few times. "What? Oh - I - um, sorry?"

Raven rolled her eyes, shifting into a more comfortable position. He sat in the chair across from her, unsure of what to say. She raised an eyebrow, then her eyes went back to scanning the pages of her book, though he noticed that they would glance at him every so often - _am I bothering her? _

She laid down her book, closing her eyes. "Shouldn't you be sleeping?"

"I'm nocturnal. Runs in the Bat family. Besides, I could ask you the same thing."

She rested her head on the arm of her chair. "I like night," she stated simply.

He smiled. "Figures."

She didn't respond, eyes still only a tiny sliver of violet on her face. He looked at her for a while, just looking, unable to tear his eyes away. She was just so captivating. Her body, beneath her blanket, a lithe form of slender muscles and curves, curled up tightly right now in the seat of the large, cushy arm chair - she reminded him of a cat, dark, small, but powerful, and highly intelligent, sometimes ill-tempered, but, as they all knew, capable of showing deep loyalty and affection. But mostly it was her face - _her face! _Smooth and pale, there almost always seemed to be dark shadows cast about her, lines underneath her eyes, dark bulges that never seemed to go away. That came with the constant struggle of reining in her emotions, denying the destructive force within her every single moment of every day, so that she might not be a danger to everyone else. That, among other things.

There were scars on her arms - he didn't even want to think about where those had come from, but he supposed that was part of the reason why she almost always kept her arms covered. She worried him sometimes, with how dark she could be, but then she would display such strength, so much tenacity that he wondered why he had doubted her, even slightly, in the first place. She was a fighter, he knew that. Their little incident with Trigon had proved that beyond all doubt.

He opened his mouth to speak, but then stopped to think, quelling that impulse. No, there was nothing that needed to be said. The silence around them was too perfect, too peaceful to be interrupted by anything he could have to say, and besides, he was happy enough just looking at her to disturb the tranquil atmosphere.

She smiled a little, and he returned the gesture, happy that he actually wasn't bothering her by interrupting her reading or anything - and actually, if he had been an empath as well, he might have realized that she felt quite comfortable, even happy with his presence across from her.

And, maybe an hour later, when he got up to go, thinking that she was asleep, he might've caught the small frown on her lips if the lighting was not so dim, but unfortunately, he didn't see it.

Alone again, Raven sighed.

_Why don't you realize that I love you, Robin... _

* * *

Sorry, I really don't know what's wrong with me, but I just can't seem to write well right now. I'll try to include some action next chapter so at least it won't be too bad.


	3. Crepuscule

Disclaimer: Teen Titans isn't mine

I wrote this one from 3-5 AM today, so it probably will be a bit disjoint and will have a few errors.

"Speech"

_Thoughts _

* * *

_Gotham - Tunnels _

Three cloaked figures moved silently through a maze of darkened tunnels. Only a single light, held by the largest one, gave any indication of where they were, and as they turned several corners, it became nearly impossible to figure out exactly which direction they were going in, but that did not seem to bother him at all. He moved forward with purpose, without hesitation, and they passed swiftly through a series of halls.

It was dark, silent everywhere, save for the sound of water dripping down from the ceiling. In some areas, the tunnels were tiny, and only Raven had an easy time getting through, and in some areas, there was a foul smell in the air, like the stench of rotting bodies, although there didn't seem to be anything around when Batman scanned the area with his light.

Eventually, they paused and Robin's voice sounded.

"So what exactly are we doing down here?"

"Supposedly the Church of Blood has something going on down here. I was down here a few weeks back," Batman grumbled, frowning. "Didn't find anything then. But there's something different about the air now..."

"The smell," Robin wrinkled his nose, scowling.

The dark figure nodded, glancing around. "But I don't see anything. And depending on how far away the source of the smell is, the number of bodies needed to generate it would be enormous."

"Or it could be magic," Robin glanced at Raven, who shrugged.

"I don't pretend to know much about them," she muttered, "but dismembering bodies was one of the things my father enjoyed doing."

"Do you sense anything?"

Raven shook her head. "There's something weird in the air around here. It's dampening everything."

"So they were here."

"Maybe," Raven replied, glancing at Batman.

The dark knight turned slightly, then continued moving. Around them, the air grew warmer, just slightly, but it was very noticeable in the dank atmosphere around them. Mostly because the heat wasn't just the random sweltering heat from the sun above ground, but rather it felt like a burning heat. Like fire.

There was a sound, a scream, but a faint one that only Raven could hear. She paused for a moment, uncertainly, and the other two heroes turned to her. She shook her head after a moment and Batman turned back, moving onward.

The silence felt dreadful, closing in around her. Normally it was something she enjoyed, even adored, but there was just some odd tension in the air that threw her off. Just ever so slightly. She frowned a little, eyes darting around, and then it struck her that it really wasn't silent at all - there was some sort of odd, whistling noise in her ear, almost like a dog whistle, high pitched and headache inducing if she paid attention to it for too long. Raven paused again.

"You guys don't hear that?"

Robin shook his head, and Batman took out some sort of device, looking at the waves on the screen. "There's some frequency in the air, but it goes above the range of human hearing." And his brows furrowed. "It might have been designed specifically for you-"

"Something to lure me in?"

"A trap," Batman nodded. "Though the chance is small. These don't even know that you're in Gotham right now."

Robin frowned. "But say it is-"

"We have to check it out," Batman turned, continuing on.

Grumbling, Robin followed him, but Raven did not move.

"We're going the wrong way," she said softly, looking down. "There's something below us."

Batman turned sharply. He opened his mouth, but then decided not to question her judgment, as she was the one with the sensing powers among them. Looking down, he pressed a hand to the ground.

And suddenly, the earth beneath him crumbled away and he jumped back out of instinct, right before fire burst up and seared the area where he had just been. He turned quickly, looking at Robin, whose eyes were wide with shock.

"What are you doing?" he growled. "Move it!"

Beneath Robin, fire surged upward suddenly and the masked hero barely avoided it, rolling aside. Again, beneath his face, the ground crumbled away, but this time a dark barrier blocked the flames before they could reach him. He got up, looking at Raven gratefully, but as another column of fire surged toward him, he tried moving to dodge.

But he found his way blocked by more of the intense flames; darkness surrounded him, shielding his body, and a moment later, the light around him was gone again.

"Thanks-"

"Move!" she growled at him, remarkably similarly to the way Batman just had, and began following the dark knight down the hall.

Behind them, the ground began to crumble away altogether, revealing a river of magma beneath them. And above, the ceiling rumbled, sending down waves of rock and hard earth... Raven shielded them again, but the magma was quickly gaining upon them. Gritting her teeth, she rushed back and grabbed Robin's hand, pressing him close to her, then they shifted into a raven of dark energy, flying quickly down the hall. A pair of dark claws dipped down, grabbing onto Batman's shoulders, and they maneuvered side to side as magma burst up toward them. Turning a corner, then another one, and Raven let them out, looking back.

Batman brushed off his shoulders, slightly disgruntled. "That was uncalled for."

"I was making sure we didn't get caught in that. Just be happy that I didn't need to actually hold onto you."

Batman turned, hiding a smirk. "I'm sure that Robin enjoyed that..."

A tinge of red rose in Raven's cheeks but she ignored him. A tap on her shoulder reminded her that Robin was still there, but she chose to ignore him and watched as Batman put a hand to the ground again.

"Still something beneath us?"

Raven nodded. "Not directly, but close."

"The ground's thin here. Think you can get us through?"

The violet haired girl moved over and pressed a hand to the ground. Darkness spread, and a moment later, there was a hole large enough for a man to fit through. Without hesitation, Batman slipped through into the darkness. Robin glanced at Raven as he passed by, following the dark knight smoothly. She moved forward as well, and stared down.

Raven bit her lip. _How can they be so fearless? We don't even have any clue what's down there..._ she stared down into the darkness tentatively, sensing some sort of perturbed aura from it, and took a deep breath. _I'm not afraid. Just... hesitant. Charging in like that is risky. Just need to take things slowly. No need to rush it. _She stretched a hand out, but then froze in place, her breath catching in her throat. She squeezed her eyes shut.

_Why can't I do this? What's there to be afraid about? _She opened her eyes, willing herself to move, but suddenly the darkness was there, looming and dangerous in front of her, and she felt a wave of terror surge up inside of her for no apparent reason at all.

"Raven?" A voice sounded from below.

She tried to speak but found that she could not; she tried to reach out through the bond she had with Robin, but nothing would respond.

"Raven, are you there?"

She tried reaching out again, this time managing to brush up against something, the slightest brush against Robin's mind...

"Raven-"

And suddenly she was ashamed of herself. Grimacing, she gathered herself together and floated down through the hole as well, landing softly on the ground in the darkness. She sensed a hand reach toward her slowly, carefully, seeming like it was trying not to startle her. She turned and it withdrew; its owner stepped closer so that she could see him.

"Raven, are you okay?"

The empath closed her eyes, breathing out lightly. The fear and tension evaporated and suddenly everything was fine again. "Yes, I'm fine. We should probably catch up with Batman."

Robin nodded, but she noticed his gaze lingering on her a little longer than it normally did. He looked like he wanted to say something, but seeing that she didn't want to talk about it, turned and continued down a path. She followed him silently, eyes shifting about, and though there was very little light, she could still make out some of the things in the darkness. For one, their surroundings were all black - not like the dirt above them, but smoothed dark rock. Squinting harder, she could occasionally see markings carved into the walls, markings that were clearly demon script, though she didn't recognize them specifically. But it disturbed her slightly that they could have been walking straight into a trap - probably were - and were not even worried about it.

_Well, I am. But these two... How can they not even be a little afraid? They're just normal humans. If they get hurt, they can't heal themselves. If they get hit by anything, it's almost guaranteed to break something. They don't have any special powers and they don't have any special senses either... _

She frowned, wondering how she could be so afraid when they were not. _How can I be so pathetic? _She ground her teeth together, forcing back her fear, but in the back of her mind, there was still that little tingling that was just... disturbing. _I'm supposed to be a creature of darkness. In fact, I like the dark. So why is this so bad? _

The answer to that was simple, really. Anything remotely related to her father was disturbing.

"Something wrong?" Batman turned.

She blinked. _We caught up to him already? _"No." She thought for a moment, then realized he had asked her a question and she had not responded yet. "We're close. A little bit that way," she pointed to their right.

Batman moved cautiously toward the way Raven had pointed, turning off his light when he spotted a door carved into the dark rock of a wall. Raven looked past him and hissed slightly when she saw that there was a mark of Scath etched into it. Robin drew near and the look on his face darkened as well, but he gave off no noise as Batman motioned for them to step back.

"Is there anyone inside?"

Raven's brows furrowed. "I can't tell. The room is sealed with something."

"Then there's only one way to find out."

He pulled out an explosive from his belt, pulled the pin and stepped back. A couple seconds later, there was a loud boom and the ceiling shook. They waited until the smoke cleared, then Batman moved forward cautiously. Upon seeing nobody come out, he turned on his flashlight and pointed it into the room. The light penetrated in an inch. And no more.

Grumbling, Batman walked forward, through the doorway-

"Wait," Raven breathed out suddenly. "It could be dangerous."

He turned impatiently. "So?"

"I, ah, well..."

Batman turned back and walked through the doorway. Raven shook her head, clearing her mind of all illogical fears and moved after him, Robin moving beside her.

Abruptly, as she entered, fire surged up along the sides of the room, but not an uncontrolled fire; this one rose up in patterns, lighting up the demon script on the walls, climbing higher and higher toward the ceiling. The room was not large, perhaps only the size of her own back in the Tower, but it seemed to be immensely tall - she didn't know how far they were underground, but it must have been very far because she couldn't even see the top of the room itself.

Beneath them, the familiar mark of Scath lit up and she stepped aside, a little bit unnerved, an odd sense of heat welling up in her body. Ignoring it, she moved to a wall, staring at the demon writing for a few moments, trying to decipher it. Her pale fingers ran along the cold rock beneath one line.

"...and to the second coming of our Lord and Master, Trigon the Terrible..." she whispered, frowning. She moved past a section she didn't recognize. "... and the sacrifices shall be many, for no mortal soul can compare to those of our demon overlords..." her brows furrowed.

_Second coming. Sacrifices. _

"... and so the blood of the gem must be spilled..." her eyes flashed and she turned abruptly, slightly startled when she found Batman staring at her.

"Find something?"

Raven nodded slowly. "Another prophecy sort of thing, I think. I remember reading about it in one of my books. A way to resurrect a demon lord."

"Trigon."

"You mean he's not dead?" Robin looked at her worriedly.

Raven shook her head. "I'd imagine that he is. I tore his soul apart. But supposedly there is a way to bring back a demon lord, given enough 'sacrifices' and the blood of a relative."

"A relative..." Robin frowned, putting a hand to his chin. And then his eyes widened. _"__You?" _

Raven rolled her eyes. "Who else?"

"Raven..."

"We can worry about that later," Batman grumbled. "Is this feasible?"

Raven shrugged. "They are right when they say mortal souls can't really compare to immortal demon ones. It'd require an unimaginable number of people to resurrect-"

"How many?"

Raven frowned. "I wouldn't know. But definitely many millions, at least. If not billions."

"That's not impossible to get."

"They wouldn't be able to do it in secret, though," Robin muttered. "What I'm worried about is if they go after Raven-"

"They tried before," she grumbled. "Didn't work. And I don't think they'd really want to fight me head on after I beat their 'might overlord' by myself. Even if he was greatly weakened..."

"I don't know about that," Batman grumbled, squinting at a picture of a hooded figure impaled on a pike. "They really seem to want you dead."

"I don't doubt that. I was never supposed to go against them. At least not in their books."

"But you did," Robin smiled slightly. "And we're still here because of it."

She rolled her eyes again. "That's great, but that doesn't tell us where these guys are."

Batman glanced at Robin. _She sure knows how to ruin a moment. _

Robin smirked a little. _She doesn't like getting all sentimental. At least not in front of most people. _

The dark knight cleared his throat. "Well keep looking. If you can figure out what this stuff says, there might be more." He glanced up at the text spiraling up the walls. "A lot more."

Raven squinted at one section of wall, where there was a picture of a pile of bodies. She put a hand to the cold stone around the flaming picture and suddenly the rock began to shift aside, revealing another room-

She staggered backward, coughing and spluttering. Robin caught her before she fell, looking at her worriedly, but then the smell hit him too and he sank to the ground with her, pinching his nose and forcing down the bile that had begun to rise up from his stomach.

The stench was awful. He knew what a rotting body smelled like and he knew what sewers smelled like; this was a combination of the two, magnified a hundred times. It was like a mixture of burnt fat, charred flesh, rotting bodies, feces, and sulfurous compounds all in one - he tried to not think about it and instead focused on the girl slumped in his arms, remembering that her sense of smell was a fair bit keener than his was, since she was half-demon after all.

And then he looked up as Batman walked past them, apparently perfectly fine with the smell. He turned slightly, looking down at them and Robin saw that he was wearing a gas mask. He knelt, fitting one over Raven's face, then handed Robin one as well, then turned and shined his light into the room. And then away an instant after he had seen the grotesque shapes of the humanoid forms within.

"Bruce-"

"It's better if you two don't look," he muttered.

"But-"

"It's not something you'd want to see. Take my word for it."

"I-" Robin looked down and as he saw Raven's unnaturally pale face and terrified eyes, he nodded. "Okay. We'll keep looking out here."

He helped her stand and she held a hand to her head, fighting down the fear that had worked its way up with the brief sight of those... those... _things _she had seen. Yes, they were things. Those things could no longer be called human, not the way they had been disfigured...

She took a deep breath, clearing her mind, and looked at another wall, forcing herself to focus.

"... to nullify a demon's focus is to nullify its power. Without mental fortitude, it cannot use any of its abilities and is thus rendered helpless save for sheer physical strength, which can be dealt with in various ways..." _So, a way to take me down. Should be obvious. _"... or, a different approach in the case of a hybrid. A way to overcome the human side of the mixling's blood and bring out the suppressed demon. It is a risky maneuver, for the demon may not recognize friend from foe, but it may prevent an unnecessary and difficult fight. This process may be activated through the emotions of the halfling, or it may be performed by a certain ritual..."

Raven's eyes widened and she stepped back, but it was already too late. Crimson light spread out, surrounding her. Her mind suddenly went blank and her eyes closed. Clenched up, she began shuddering, and even as Robin began to rush toward her, her skin began to turn a pale red. Her silky, violet hair lengthened into a coarser grey, and her nails formed dark claws - she turned and on her face, four red eyes opened, gleaming with power and hatred.

She sniffed at the air. "Looks like the mortal rats have been playing around," her voice was an odd mix of a growl, a rasp, and Raven's normal low, gravelly tone.

"Raven-"

The demoness turned and suddenly she flew forward, grabbing Robin by the throat and pinning him against a wall. Fire surged and he gritted his teeth together as it burned his back, forcing himself not to scream with the sheer pain.

"Ra-ven-" he tried speaking, but her hand closed yet tighter.

"Fool of a mortal," she growled. "You were the one who aided my host in defeating father. For that, you shall pay."

Robin gasped, feeling as if his lungs would collapse. "Ra-ven- no- I- know- you-re-still -in-there..."

"The name is Pride, mortal," the eyes narrowed.

And then suddenly she was kicked away as a dark shape flew out of nowhere. Batman's eyes were a pair of thin, white slits as he eyed the demon girl warily, tensed and ready for an attack at any moment.

She growled darkly and lurched forward, but then shifted aside as he tried to counter and swept his feet from beneath him. Batman balanced himself on his hands and turned swiftly, driving a kick toward her legs, but she was faster and brought up a knee into his abdomen. He grunted with the force of the impact but managed to shift his weight, sending his own body sailing into hers and pinned her against the ground.

"Raven!" he said sharply, and was met with another kick to his stomach.

"Pride!" She howled. "Never mention that accursed name around me!"

"Raven!" His eyes flashed, but then he knew what to do. He grabbed her shoulder and turned her in a swift movement, forcing her to look at Robin's slumped form on the ground. "Look at what you've done! Is this really what you want?"

There was a flash of violet in the crimson eyes. "Unhand me!" She pushed up violently, forcing Batman away and moved to strike him, but he shifted the force of her attack away. Growling, she moved to attack again, but froze as another voice spoke.

"Raven," Robin said quietly, trying not to stress his throat more than necessary. "Raven, that isn't you. I know you're still there. Fight it. Don't let it take over-"

"I said-" she held a hand to her head, speaking with some difficulty. "I said- my name is - Pride - no, get away from me, no!" she staggered about, holding her head and bumped into Batman, who held her shoulders with a firm grip as she squirmed around.

"You can't - restrain me - forever - you - argghhh!-" she let out another terrible howl and the demon features faded.

Raven slumped forward slightly, breathing heavily, but Batman's hold on her body kept her upright. She opened her eyes slowly, groaning, and turned to look at him. She bit her lip, noting the hostility radiating off of the dark knight, but then a thought flashed through her mind and she looked back, shock flitting across her face as she saw Robin's scorched body laying against a wall.

Batman let go of her and she rushed forward, reaching out tentatively to touch him.

He smiled a little. "You should see yourself," he murmured. "You look like you're going to cry."

And she realized she did, but that didn't matter one bit, because she had _hurt Robin, _out of her own carelessness and her own lack of self control. She squeezed her eyes shut and helped him into a sitting position, pressing a hand to his back and sending her energy into his body.

"Raven," he spoke again, and this time there was at least a little less pain in his voice. "Raven, what exactly happened?"

She shook her head, trying to force her face to stay calm, but panic still boiled inside her. And fear - the fear that had been so terrifying earlier, the fear that she had tried to repress, but now was so great that she didn't even want to think about it. The thought that she - they, the Church of Blood - could turn her in to her demon form at any given time and she would begin to attack innocent people, hell, she would even attack her best friend without a second thought...

"Raven, it's okay," he tried reassuring her, sensing her emotions boiling through their bond, but she still did not respond.

"Raven, I -" and suddenly, his eyes met hers, almost by accident, and he saw them glimmering with a maelstrom of conflicted emotions...

She felt a wave of humiliation pulse through her and tore her gaze away. She put her hood up, and letting her powers surround her, turned into a bird of dark energy.

"Wait-" Robin tried to grab onto her, but she slipped through his hand and phased through the walls, disappearing.

Scowling, he pounded a fist against the ground. And his scowl only deepened as Batman came over, staring down at him expressionlessly.

"We need to talk," he grumbled.

Robin looked away. "When we get back."

Batman's brows furrowed but surprisingly, he nodded. "Fine."

He offered a hand to his protege, but Robin ignored it, getting up by himself. He looked at Batman for a moment, then walked past the dark knight, through the door, back into the darkness.


	4. Gloom

Disclaimer: Teen Titans isn't mine

"Speech"

_Thoughts_

* * *

_Batcave _

Robin winced as Batman slammed his fist into the wall next to him.

"Richard," the dark knight growled. "Care to tell me what that was about?"

"She's half-demon, Bruce-"

"I know that. But that doesn't explain why she suddenly attacked you."

"She must've lost control or something-"

"Control?"

"Her powers are based on her emotions. Sometimes when she gets really upset, her other side takes over. But the weird thing is, she seemed fine before that happened. They must've done something to her."

"A spell to trigger her demon side," Batman paced back and forth. "So you're telling me she's a liability."

"She's not a liability!"

"From what I've seen, she is. In that state, she can't distinguish friend from foe. She'll destroy everything in sight. She's a demon, after all-"

"Bruce, that's not true!"

"For God's sake, Richard, she even attacked you!"

"And?"

Batman pinched the bridge of his nose. "Fact of the matter is, she's dangerous."

"So are we. So are the rest of the heroes in the League. It wasn't her fault that the Church of Blood found a spell to bring out her demon side-"

"And if we let her be, she could end up killing a bunch of people. Innocent people, Richard. And as for the rest of the League, you realize I've made contingency plans for all of them - including myself."

Robin gritted his teeth. "She's not just a demon, Bruce."

"I know she isn't. But with the possibility that she could randomly attack us, it's too dangerous to allow her to come with us. Send her back to Jump."

Robin folded his arms over his chest. "It's her choice, not mine."

"Richard-"

"Bruce," Robin's gaze was as steely as his mentor's. "I don't get to call the shots. Neither do you. This is _her _fight."

Batman pounded his fist into the wall again. "And if she turns on us and kills us both?"

"She won't. She wouldn't let it happen again."

"How do you know?"

"I trust her."

Bruce paused. There was something about the earnestness in Robin's voice that threw him off - he could sense the younger man's anger, but it wasn't like it had been before when they often blew up at each other when they butted heads. This time, Richard seemed a lot calmer, still angry, but in control.

He shook his head. _Maybe I'm wrong. I hope I'm wrong and she isn't dangerous. But you and I both know we can't take that risk, Richard. We have to have some safety measures in case something really does happen. _

"... you're not really considering making a contingency plan for Raven, are you?"

"I've done it for everyone else. I don't see why she should be any different."

"Bruce, that's... that's treating her like she's just some kind of rabid animal or something!"

"In that case, I'm treating all of us like rabid dogs. If anything, you should take it as an acknowledgement of her abilities. Don't be too offended."

"How could I not be?!"

"Richard," Batman growled. "I said I made one for _everyone, _including myself. Do you really think she is so far above, or beneath us that she should be treated any differently? I am merely treating her like a fellow - an equal - and nothing else. If you _insist _that she comes along, fine, but then we need to take some safety precautions or we could end up dead!"

Robin remained silent for a moment. He held his head, not sure why he was arguing with Bruce about this - it made sense, when he thought about it - he really wasn't treating her differently than any other hero, and the mere fact that he was calling it a safety precaution meant that he was acknowledging that she wasn't necessarily going to be a loose cannon. So why was he so opposed to it?

_Because I know Raven will agree with him. She always treats herself like she's a danger to everyone and that's why she never allows her self to feel anything. She treats herself like she's something subhuman... and this would only make her feel more like a demon. I can't let her be hurt like this!_

"Richard," Bruce said quietly. "You know this is for the best."

"You understand _nothing _about how she feels," Robin hissed.

The older man nodded. "I don't. But you do. So maybe you should go talk to her and sort things out."

"Or maybe you could just-"

"You know that won't happen."

Robin froze, then sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I just don't want her to get hurt."

"Then protect her."

"But in the meantime we're here, thinking of ways to take her down-"

"To neutralize her," Batman turned toward a computer screen. "Not to kill her or harm her."

"And how do you propose to do that? She's not like Etrigan, Bruce. There isn't just some spell that'll make her demon side go away."

Batman frowned. "You're right; she doesn't really have any glaring weaknesses like most of the League members. Data suggests that in her human state, she requires three words to use her powers to their fullest extent."

"Azarath metrion zinthos," Robin nodded. "Heard her say those words many times."

"But in her demon state she seems to be able to call on vast amounts of energy at will. As for physical limitations..?"

"Don't know. She always holds back when she fights and I've never really seen her completely go over to her demon side. She's always fighting it, even when it takes over."

Batman paused. "So you're telling me that she's that strong while fighting to suppress her own powers."

"She _is _the daughter of an inter-dimensional demon lord."

The dark knight continued typing on the computer. "Fine, then we'll try a different approach. Data on other demonic entities suggest that those possessing high mental capabilities are weak to things that can break their focus."

Robin thought for a moment. "Makes sense. She always complained about us being too loud."

_Loud. Loud... noise... sound. _Batman pulled up another file. "The range of demon hearing is a fair bit wider than the range of human hearing. People can hear frequencies from about 20 to 20000 Hz. Various tests on demons show an average of about three times that range. So in that case..."

Robin's eyes widened. "A high frequency whistle?"

Batman nodded and typed a few commands on the computer. The two heroes waited for a minute or two; nothing seemed to happen, but around them, the bats began to squeal and mill about restlessly.

"A rather benign contingency plan," Batman muttered, "but from what you suggested, if we manage to knock her out, her human side should take control again."

"I... I think so. Should be the case, since she seems to be stronger than her demon side. Well, in terms of willpower anyway."

"So, is this good enough for you?"

Robin sighed. "Yeah. It's fine with me." _Not like the old man would just let her come along without any sort of safeguard, but this is pretty light for him. I wonder why he's going easy on her. _

"You two are clearly good friends," Bruce spoke as if on cue. "_Really _good _friends,_" he emphasized a couple words and Robin had to turn away, blushing. "I'm doing this for you, and her, Richard. I don't want to hurt either of you."

"I- that's- um, thanks."

"... what?"

"I said thanks," Robin muttered. "For going easy on her. Usually you wouldn't let something like that slide so easily."

Batman nodded. "Usually I wouldn't. But I get the feeling that she's already beating herself up enough about it without me adding onto that."

_Got that right. _Robin turned. "I'm going to go find her. Be back in an hour."

"Alright. Just try not to stay too long or Alfred will scold you for missing dinner."

Robin smiled. "I know." And with that, he left.

* * *

Outside, it was raining.

A light rain; here, a little distance away from the city, the water was still pure and cool as it fell against his face, not like the polluted filth that plagued Gotham. It was very calming. Normally, he would've stopped to enjoy it, but there was a task at hand that took precedence.

_Where would she be... _Raven, he knew, had a tendency to be elusive like nobody else. If she didn't want to be found, she wouldn't be. Especially considering she could teleport between dimensions at will. _But I get the feeling that she doesn't really want to be alone. She might act like we annoy her all the time, but I think she needs someone to help her when she's depressed. Like that time with Malchior. Or when she got out of control with Doctor Light. Or with Trigon... _

Raven was independent, but not completely solitary. There was still some part of her that seemed to cry out for help - for understanding, a part of her that wanted to be acknowledged as another human, and not just some freaky half-demon girl who really didn't belong in this world. It was hard to sense under that cold exterior, but he knew it was there. The Raven that cried out for help, but too often went unheeded.

He remembered that look she had given him when he had found her younger self in the pits of hell. So forlorn, so alone. Like she had been forsaken by everyone... _well, she had been. We all abandoned her, in some sense. But now I get it. There's no need to be afraid of her when she tries to push me away. What she needs is someone to talk to. Or at least be near, to comfort her. I just hope that I'm adequate._

_...if I can even find her. But if she isn't trying to hide herself. _He began walking, instinctively knowing where to find her.

Behind the Wayne Manor, there was a small, slightly forested area that led to the cliff side overlooking the ocean. It wasn't large, like the wilderness and the cliff wasn't very tall like those found in canyons, but it was a nice departure from the heavily developed city areas that he was used to; and Raven, never one for too much noise or action, probably would enjoy it quite a lot.

Robin walked along the path through the forest and looked around at the dark leaves dripping with water, listening to the calming, rhythmic sound of the rain splashing against the ground. Here, it was very peaceful, with nothing but the rain and the sounds of bird calls breaking through the silence, but they were not jarring sounds, not disturbing.

He passed through the peaceful darkness, closing his eyes and letting his other senses guide him. The scent of fresh rainwater, blooming flowers, the special breath of lavender that belonged to Raven - she had passed through here, as he had thought.

Reaching out, touching the rough tree bark and smooth leaves, and then a slight bit of greyish light shone from the edge of the forest - Robin opened his eyes and saw a solitary figure sitting on the edge of the cliff, looking down at the roiling waves beneath her. She had her legs crossed, dangling over the edge of the rock, and for a moment he was worried that she was thinking of doing something... but that thought passed as he realized that she seemed relaxed... much more relaxed than he had imagined she would be, at least.

Maybe it was the rain, or the wind blowing softly through her hair. Or maybe it was the calming sound of the waves pulsing against the beach below. Whatever it was, she didn't seem _too _upset, as he worried she might be. She was still slouched over, as usual, but something in her posture seemed less tense, a little less restrained.

He approached her quietly; he knew she could sense him, but she did not turn, even when he sat beside her, looking up at the rain as she was. There was no reason for him to break the placid ambient noise, not unless she wanted to talk, but her uncertainty roiled behind their bond.

She pressed her hand against his, an almost unconscious, but very natural movement, and he squeezed back lightly.

Her hand was a little cold, he felt, and as he ran his fingers along her small, delicate tendons, he got the strangest sense that she was some sort of porcelain doll, something precious and dear, to be protected and cherished; he wouldn't let anything hurt her, if he could help it.

"Robin," she said quietly, and he loved how her voice blended in so smoothly with the falling rain.

He shifted slightly, and she knew that he was listening.

She bit her lip. "I was terrified. I... I'm still afraid." She clutched at his hand.

"Why?"

"I... thought I was going to kill you... I hurt you..."

"You didn't hurt me," Robin replied softly. "I'm fine."

"Robin-"

"Raven, I'm fine."

"But I-"

"It wasn't your fault."

"It was," she looked down at the jagged rocks protruding from the surface of the sea beneath them. "I... I lo-" she shook her head. "You're my best friend. And I attacked you."

"Raven," he grabbed one of her wrists gently - and was surprised when she jerked her arm back very slightly, almost like a reflex. He frowned. "Raven," he said more sternly. "Show me your arms."

She paled a little and a surge of emotions flowed through their bond - fear, anxiousness, uncertainty, but maybe a small sense of... relief? "Robin, that's-"

He closed his eyes. "Raven," he repeated. "Please."

Holding her wrist, he felt her pulse quicken a little, but she did as she asked, drawing back the sleeves of her leotard. He looked at the jagged red marks running up and down her arms, the more pronounced, straight cuts at her wrists, and sighed.

He had always known that Raven had a tendency to do such things, but to think that _he _was the cause of it this time...

"You weren't," she whispered. "It was my own fault. I deserved it-"

"You didn't do anything wrong," he repeated. "Raven, stop beating yourself up about it. Even Batman's forgiven you."

She blinked. "He has? I thought that... he'd..."

"He'd what?"

She turned away. "You're like his son, right? I thought that he'd try to... I don't know. Lock me up or something for doing that to you."

Robin shook his head. "I managed to convince him to only take safety precautions should this happen in the future. A little something to stop your demon side, nothing else."

Raven closed her eyes. "I shouldn't be here. I should go back to Jump. I'm just a danger to you two-"

"Raven, please."

It was hard to tell because of the rain, but it almost seemed like she was crying - she did not shudder and her voice was still smooth, but something about the grief in the way she spoke seemed so... depressing. "I _hurt _you."

Robin opened his mouth, but then realized words weren't going to get through to her, so instead, he held her shoulders and turned her to face him. Her face was still smooth, but the way her mouth curved, the way the dark lines on her face became more pronounced - he could see the sorrow in her face, and that seemed so utterly depressing.

He was tempted to hug her, but he wasn't sure how she would respond, so he merely touched her face, following the trail of what seemed to be a tear strike down her cheek.

She breathed out lightly. Erratically, once, twice, and clutched at her chest. He removed her hand and put his own in place, feeling her heart beat quickly for a few moments, but then as the cool rain seeped through her clothing, she began to breathe more calmly and her roiling emotions placated somewhat.

And abruptly, she turned and jumped off the cliff side.

Robin froze, shocked for a moment, then looked over the side of the precipitous rock ledge. He let out a long, low breath.

Below, she was floating in midair, carried by the wind whichever way it happened to be blowing, and with her cloak spread out around her, she truly did seem like some ethereal, majestic bird of raw darkness, breathtakingly beautiful in the falling rain.

He watched her glide this way and that, a streak of dark violet in the greyed world around her, and continued staring as she landed on the beach below, standing there with her eyes closed for several minutes.

Then she looked up at him and he knew that she wanted him to join her.

And like her, he jumped over, spreading out his cape like the wings of a dark bird; he felt her powers surge up to support him and he was flying as well, soaring through the cool veil of water, blown about like a cloud riding upon the graceful wind...

Her eyes lit up as she saw him approach. He smiled at her, descending toward her, taking her hands into his own. And she smiled back - a tiny one, but he felt a tremendous sense of relief, that she had allowed herself to feel even the slightest bit happy, even if just for a moment.

"I had to lose myself, just for a little bit," she whispered, looking up. "Just had to go wherever the wind took me."

"Letting go isn't bad."

"It was terrifying. But it felt exhilarating too. I've never felt so free before."

He reached toward her, almost putting a hand on her shoulder, but then he paused, hesitated, and withdrew his arm. She smiled again and held his hand with her own.

"Freedom. It's a strange thing. Being in control of one's own destiny. And in control of oneself. It's something I've always dreamed about."

"You can be free, Raven. If you just let yourself be-"

"I wish," she muttered bitterly. "But life just doesn't work that way."

"I wish you could be happy," Robin replied quietly. "You know that we all want you to be happy..."

"I've never found much meaning in happiness. It seems so pointless."

Robin put a hand to his chin. "Maybe. So..." he said slowly. "You'd rather have peace and quiet."

"I'd like to not be miserable. I'd like to not hurt the people I care about."

"Raven-"

"Robin," she breathed out. "All I want is to have some semblance of calm in my life."

It was silent for a few minutes as they stared at each other again. He saw something shimmer in her eyes, something so odd, so unlike Raven that he could not identify it.

Robin pursed his lips together. "Maybe you should settle down. We could get you a civilian identity, a real job, your own home... maybe you'd even be able to find a boyfriend or something-"

"Robin." She closed her eyes. "One. I'm not the type to just 'find a boyfriend or something'. Two, I don't think I could stand settling down either. It'd be boring. And three, I never said that I wasn't calm right now."

"Oh."

Raven turned away and tugged on his hand lightly. They began walking down the beach, through the cold, grey world beyond the veil of falling rain. Here, away from everything and everyone else, it might have been a bit lonely even if it was calm and peaceful, but that sense of desolation wasn't there. Mostly because they had each other.

A pair of dark souls, sharing in the tranquility of the raining heavens, away from all the problems and worries of their world. The problems that would return eventually, but right now, were distant enough that neither of them had to think about them. For once, everything seemed completely calm.

Raven sat by the shore, dipping her feet in the water and let the waves splash up onto her bare legs. Robin sat behind her, putting his hands on her shoulders and contented himself with feeling her slow, even breathing. She leaned her head back against his chest and when he looked down, her eyes were closed.

"Hey Robin," she murmured.

"Hmm?"

"We're friends, right?"

"Of course."

Her mouth twitched. Robin blinked for a moment or two, then realized that that had not been her question at all. She had phrased it in such an innocuous way, probably to hide her own embarrassment or to avoid making it awkward, but something in the way she had said it hinted at a bit of fear. She was... afraid of what he would say?

"I don't know what we are," he said quietly. "What do you want us to be?"

"It doesn't matter what I want," Raven's voice was nothing but a light breath.

"Of course it matters. You can't disregard your own wants."

"I can-"

"You shouldn't."

Raven bit her lip. "I was just hoping that... never mind."

"Raven-"

"I don't want to ruin what we have."

Robin chuckled lightly. "You know, both Bruce and Alfred say that we'd be a good couple."

Raven blushed slightly. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, from what you just said..."

The red in Raven's cheeks deepened. "Well, that's-"

"It's fine. I don't mind. Actually, I think this might be enjoyable."

Raven raised an eyebrow. "Assuming I meant what you thought I did."

Robin squeezed her shoulders. "Sometimes you have to do what you feel. You shouldn't always try to force away your emotions."

"You know I can't do that..."

"You can. Don't be afraid."

"I don't even know how you feel-"

"I think you do."

"Robin," Raven's voice was tight. "Robin..."

"We can just be friends, if you want. But if you want more-"

"No," she whispered. "Let's just be friends for now. I... don't think I'm ready."

Robin nodded. "That's fine with me."

Raven squeezed his hand. "You're sure?"

"I just want to make you happy. Or, let you be calm, as you say. I'm not going to push you."

The violet haired girl closed her eyes, letting herself lean back against him further. He massaged her neck for a moment, then ran a hand through her silky, wet hair. She sighed softly, then her lips curved up a little as she sensed his calmness from behind their bond.

"Thank you. I'm sorry if I'm disappointing you-"

"Don't be. There's nothing to be sorry about. And besides, the only ones who're gonna be disappointed are Bruce and Alfred-" and then a thought crossed his mind. "Raven, how long have we been out here?"

She blinked, slightly surprised at the unexpected question, and took out her communicator. "It's 10 PM. Almost three hours."

Robin groaned slightly. "Alfred's not going to be happy with me..."

Raven laughed softly. "You used to miss dinner a lot, I take it?"

"Night patrols. Had to."

"You work too hard," she turned and held his hands. "You always have."

"I have people to protect."

Raven looked at the ground. "I don't want to be a burden."

"You're not." He tilted her chin up. "Don't _ever _think that you are. You're just as good as any of us. No, you're better-"

She sighed and stood. "Maybe we should just get some food before the old man goes to sleep."

He raised an eyebrow, realizing that she was changing the subject on purpose, but he decided to let it be and contented himself with holding her hand as they began to walk back to the manor.

* * *

"Master Richard, Miss Raven... oh my, you two are absolutely soaked."

"We're fine, Alfred," Robin took off his cape and began to walk upstairs, but Alfred tapped his shoulder with an umbrella.

"You are not going upstairs with those dirty clothes. I shall bring you some clean ones and you may change down here."

"Yes, Alfred."

"My word," the old man muttered to himself as he walked past them.

Robin and Raven exchanged a glance and waited as he reappeared, bearing a fresh set of clothes for both of them in his arms.

"Now, you two may change and I shall prepare something for you to eat."

"Really?"

"Yes, really. But just this one time. If you are late to dinner again..."

"Well I was, ah, preoccupied."

Alfred blinked, then looked between them. And met Raven's eyes for a moment, looking for an answer. The violet haired girl shook her head.

He sighed, turning away. "Master Richard, I suggest that if you run off into the rain and miss dinner, you should at least be able to bring back a girlfriend."

Both of them turned crimson. "Wait, that's-" he spluttered, but Raven clamped a hand over his mouth.

"Let's just change and eat, okay?"

They left, and Alfred smiled before going back to prepare a rather late dinner for the two of them.

In the darkness, another figure watched silently before turning away and looking out the window.


	5. Blackout

Disclaimer: Nothing from TT is mine

Apologies, I've been sleeping too much to write...

"Speech"

_Thoughts_

* * *

Light.

She woke up, feeling slightly more refreshed than she thought she would, and briefly wondered why she wasn't feeling completely miserable.

_Right. Robin came to talk to me yesterday. He's... not mad at me. _She breathed out lightly. _He understands. Even Batman understands. I'm not just a freak. I'm a person too. I'm... human. And I'm his best friend. _

She allowed herself to smile a little at that. He was her best friend too, after all.

And then she steeled herself. _So I can't allow myself to hurt him ever again. I have to control myself. Yes... _The small sense of relief she had had dissipated quickly and her emotions disappeared under the usual layers of repression that she had become accustomed to. She closed her eyes, then got up and drew her cloak about her.

* * *

Judging by the position of the sun, it was already past midday, probably about one or two in the afternoon. Past the time for lunch, but she wasn't really that hungry anyway, and besides, too much food in one's stomach usually dulled the senses. A little bit of hunger made her mind feel clear and sharp; it made her better aware of herself, and the state of her emotions.

Alfred was nowhere to be seen, but the manor was large and he had a lot of tasks to attend to, so she made herself a kettle of tea and took a grapefruit from a bowl of fruit on the counter. Then going upstairs, she went back to the library and found another book to read.

A classic book, one that ironically fit her situation - _Strange Case of __Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - _but she read it nonetheless, even if it made her feel somewhat uncomfortable. A man with an alter ego. A normally well-behaved, morally virtuous man with a dark side, not wholly unlike her. But the difference was, he had, to an extent, embraced that side of himself at first. It had had consequences, of course, but he had still accepted his darker side. And that really made her uncomfortable.

She shook her head. _Embrace the fact that I am a demon? That would be horrible... w__ell, being a demon in of itself is nothing horrible. It is only the destruction that I cause when I lose control of my emotions. Demons are not built for this world. They thrive on raw power, which cannot be found in the bodies of mortals. If unleashed, they destroy all around them simply by mere nature of what they are. _

_It's not like that side of me is evil... just... different. But I still can't embrace my demonic nature. It would cause too much damage. ____But if I force it back forever, I run the risk of losing control over it too. _She tapped the book lightly, staring at one of the pages._I could hurt people without having any control over it... __What if I hurt Robin..._

_Everyone has a dark side. If I could just come to terms with it... I can let myself feel something. Just a bit, a little angry, a little frustrated, letting it out a little instead of bottling it up. Like my fear. If I were to not deny it, maybe it wouldn't find other ways out. Maybe I could avoid hurting the people I lo- care about. _

She shook her head again. _I don't love him. Rather, I can't love him. I can't let myself get too attached to him, or else... but what if he loves me too? __Ah... _she bit her lip. _But he probably doesn't, so it's okay. I just... I just don't want to hurt him. I just need to figure out a way to deal with all of this. I... ah... just need to relax. _

She closed her book and sighed lightly. _Clear your mind. Azarath metrion zinthos. Azarath metrion zinthos. Azarath - __  
_

She looked up as she heard a door close and bit her lip. _Seems like I'm no longer alone. I hope that's just Alfred... I don't think I could bear to see **him** right now... I don't know what's wrong with me... _

"Raven?"

The violet haired girl blinked confusedly. "Batman?"

The dark haired man smiled faintly. "No superhero names while the masks are off. It's Bruce to you. And I hear Raven is your given name."

She nodded faintly, still staring.

"I was looking for you," he said after a moment.

"Why?"

"To talk."

"If this is about me losing control-"

"No, it's not. You've probably thought about that enough, judging by how long you were out yesterday."

Raven's face was blank for a while, then she smiled very slightly, surprised that he was more perceptive than she had given him credit for. They stared at each other for a moment longer, then he sat by her, his eyes piercing into her own. Surprisingly, she did not tear her gaze away, as he thought she might; she was tough, detached and cold, just as good as repressing her emotions as he was, just as stubborn as he was as well, apparently. But being strong willed was good, for a person of her nature.

"It's something a little more mundane, but it is a subject that has bothering Richard for a while. And by the looks of it, it has been bothering you too."

She instantly understood what he was getting at. "Is this something you should be talking to me about?" Raven said quietly.

"Yes, it is. I've seen the way you two have looked at each other-"

"That's-"

"But you seem to ignore it. Why?"

"Because..." she paused. "I don't know why." _Does he really..?_

"He cares about you, you know. And if I'm not wrong, I'd say that he cares about you more than a friend. You two-"

"I'm dangerous. You saw what I could do. I can't be too close to anyone. Even having friends is pushing it-"

"Life's not all about being a control freak-"

"You're one to talk."

Bruce twiddled his thumbs. "I doubt you want to turn out like me."

Raven froze then nodded slowly. She could sense the feelings buried inside him, the old pain, the misery of being alone, the loss of those close to him, but still having to carry on in his duty, never allowing himself any rest or reprieve... with nobody else there to comfort him. But all buried. Nothing but a flicker inside - though there was the hint of another emotion, a familiar one to her, though she didn't particularly enjoy it...

"If I let go, I run the risk of-"

"I realize that. Maybe you can't show your emotions. Maybe it is uncomfortable for you." _Like it is for me. _

She pursed her lips and he knew she had understood his thoughts. He cleared his throat and continued. "But letting someone else be there with you can help ease that burden. Even if you don't let go, it can help."

"But what if he doesn't-"

"He does. I'm certain of it."

Raven's eyes narrowed. "And how would you know?"

"Because he is my foster son. I have known him for a long time. And trust me, he hasn't been so obsessed with anything else before-" _Besides maybe his parents' murderer. And certain criminals... _

Raven's eyes twinkled, and he knew she had heard his thoughts again. "I kind of doubt that..."

Bruce smirked very slightly. "You know what I mean."

The violet haired girl sighed, then looked at her hands. "And what about you? If you're going to say all these things then completely ignore them-"

"I'm working on it. I have someone in mind, and fortunately she seems to reciprocate," he glanced at her.

She understood the meaning of that. "He hasn't said anything about it. And I'm never the one to make the first move."

"Why not?"

_I don't know. Fear? Lack of self-confidence? Doubt? _Her face remained blank, but her lack of an answer was enough for him.

"I see," Bruce scratched his head. "That's a pity. Richard might not look like it, but he's pretty shy around girls too."

"Really. I thought he was supposed to be like, a playboy. Like you-"

"Fake persona. That isn't really who we are. I thought you would've figured that out... or... you're trying to make excuses."

Raven turned faintly pink. "I'm not."

"Pushing the blame onto him so you draw attention away from yourself. You _are _exactly like he described you."

"And that is..?"

"You hate being the one at fault in most cases."

Raven turned redder. "I'm not that childish-"

"Never said you were. I was merely suggesting that you might not be right in being so shy. It could work against you. Just take care that you don't let him slip away before it's too late."

The violet haired girl closed her eyes. It was silent again, this time for a long while, and she was acutely aware of him staring at her, his eyes dark and piercing, distinct points of discomfort... _no wonder he's so good at interrogating people. It's hard to lie or say no to that stare. But... but it's not like I can tell him how I feel about Robin. He might understand, but I just... I just can't tell anyone. Especially not Robin. It would be too terrifying. _

_I'd never be able to make the first move. It's too frightening. _She bit her lip. _But can I really just let him slip away? What if he does and I can never get him back? _

_... then we'll just be friends. That's fine, isn't it? _

And his eyes were on her again, she knew, staring directly at her face, trying to read her emotions. But with her eyes closed, it was hard to tell anything with how smooth she kept her outward demeanor. But if he was an empath, that would've been a different story. Luckily, he wasn't.

_But he still knows how I feel. I don't know how he figured it out, but he knows. _She clenched her teeth. _What do I do? I can't do anything... but if Robin asks, I'll... I'll say yes. If he asks about it, I'll answer. But I won't tell him if he doesn't ask. That should be fine. Right? _

She opened her eyes. Bruce blinked.

"Seems like you've decided on something."

She nodded slowly. "I'm still... uncertain."

"That's alright. Things will play out as they will. I just hope you two will be happy together. _Together,_" he emphasized the word, then stood.

Raven tilted her head sideways. "You're going?"

Bruce looked back at her. "I said what I was going to say. About the other thing, I think you already know how I feel about that, so there's no need for me to discuss it."

Raven paled somewhat - he had confirmed that he was somewhat angry with her about it, but he understood why it had happened and how to prevent it - at least to some extent.

"... so that's that. I'll be going now... unless you want to talk about something?"

The demoness shifted uncomfortably. "Well... umm..."

The dark knight sat. "Spill it."

"I... uh... do you trust me?"

He leaned back, somewhat surprised. "That matters to you?"

"... I don't know why, but it does..."

"I see..."

Silence. Raven pursed her lips. "So that's a no..?"

"Not quite. Trust... is a hard thing, you know. Richard said that he trusts you with his life. Originally, that wasn't good enough for me."

"Because you don't trust his judgment."

"That. And your dubious history, even with what you've done with your life. But-" he started reassuring her as he saw the dejected look in her eyes, "but it's not like that. I made sure not to come to a conclusion too quickly. I've watched carefully, as I said. And it's pretty obvious that you care a lot about him."

"Uhh..."

"_A lot._"

Raven blushed and turned away, but Bruce went on speaking.

"That doesn't mean you're not dangerous, but you already know that. I still am not entirely sure what kind of person you are, or what you mean to do with your life, but I know that I can trust you to protect him if he needs it. And from what I've seen in the news and what I've been told, you really do try to help people, whatever your reasons may be. So yes, in that sense, I trust you."

"But you wouldn't trust me to guard your back in a fight?"

Bruce smirked slightly. "I think you'd try to. But I wouldn't trust you to until I trained you myself. Nothing personal, just force of habit."

Raven didn't smile, but her eyes sparkled a little. "I see... so Robin's training isn't good enough for you."

"He has a little way to go before he reaches my level. Fact of the matter is, he's not as good yet. So that means his training won't be as good either."

The violet haired girl closed her eyes again, breathing out lightly. _So it really was nothing personal. He's just paranoid like that. But at least he's acknowledged me as another hero... _

"I think you're a fine hero," he spoke as if on cue. "Better than many of us. You're not self-righteous, nor overconfident, and most importantly, you act out of the goodness of your heart."

"My human heart."

"Yes... your demonic side probably isn't too suited to this world."

Raven's lips curved up slightly. He smiled a bit too, then after a couple moments, stood.

"B-Bruce," she stuttered a little, not used to calling by name yet, "thank you. For being honest with me."

He nodded. "You're welcome. And think about what I said."

He left, and she stared at her book for a while, before curling up on her chair and closing her eyes.

* * *

_It's weird... _Robin scratched his head. _First I can't find Raven... no, that's not weird. But Bruce was acting strangely when I brought her up. And Alfred wouldn't say anything about her either. Is this like... some sort of conspiracy or something? I wonder what they're trying to do... _

He walked up the stairs toward the library. _I hope he didn't scare her or anything. Raven's pretty tough but that's still no reason to make her uncomfortable. Still, Bruce has a way with doing that to people. Even those he cares about. Though he's gotten better._

Robin entered the door to the library and began looking through the bookshelves to see if he could find Raven. Strangely enough, she wasn't here either - _wait... _he looked back between a couple of bookshelves and walked through the corridor into a small sitting area. And there, he found Raven resting her head on the arm of a large, cushy chair, peeling a grapefruit. She glanced up as he came near, then took a sip of tea and sat up.

"You didn't eat?"

She shook her head.

"Want me to get you something?"

She shook her head again and split off a piece of grapefruit, trying to eat it. But it was too big so the end stuck out of her mouth and she made a face. Robin laughed.

"You know, you like kind of cute when you do that."

Raven glared at him and mumbled something but the fruit made it incomprehensible. Robin sat beside her, reaching a hand toward her, but she batted him away.

"Why are you here?"

"To bother you, of course."

Raven sighed, peeling off another piece of grapefruit. "Thanks."

Robin grinned. "Nah, that's not it. I just wanted to see how you were doing."

"... fine?" she muttered, eyes flicking down as juice ran down her chin.

"I don't know, you have a tendency to be moody..."

"So?"

"And Bruce and Alfred were both acting weird, so I thought that maybe one of them had come to talk to you-"

"Yeah. Bruce did."

Robin paused, staring at her. "Oh. Oh, I see. Um... what did he say?"

Raven smirked. "Surprisingly he came to talk about _feelings._"

"Feelings?"

She nodded, and Robin eyed her suspiciously. She had her face hidden behind a napkin, but he could've sworn she was grinning. "Feelings," she repeated. "Not his own, of course. Grapefruit?" she held out a piece to him.

Robin frowned. "Not his own... and aren't you going to be hungry?"

"I'll manage. And yes, not his own feelings. If I wasn't an empath, I would've thought he was trying to set us up."

"Set us up... oh no," Robin groaned. "He was talking about _that _kind of stuff."

Raven blinked, and she sipped at her tea, her face smooth and expressionless. "What's wrong with that?"

"He must've been spying on us or something and got the wrong impression."

"I guess so," Raven said breathily, looking down. "We're just friends."

Robin looked at her oddly; she sounded a little disappointed. "Are you suggesting that..."

"I'm not suggesting anything, Robin," Raven sighed.

"But you want something," Robin said softly. "Don't you?"

"Emotions are so troublesome," she muttered back. "If only I could get rid of them..."

"But you can't. What are you feeling?"

"I could ask you the same thing."

"You're turning the question back on me..."

"I am. What about it?"

"That's not fair!"

"Well you can't expect me to answer if you refuse to."

"I - well, maybe that's true. But I asked first!"

Raven rolled her eyes. "Talk."

Robin glanced around, as if looking for any potential eavesdroppers. "Hmm. How to put it... yes..." he looked at Raven. "I don't know what Bruce told you. But from what I can guess, he probably wasn't too inaccurate in what he said."

"That's very vague, Robin."

"Argh! You know I'm not good with these things, Raven! It's hard to express these things and you're not exactly the sentimental type either so-"

"Who says I'm not?" she looked at him expressionlessly.

For a moment, he thought she was being completely serious with him, but then he saw her eyes sparkle. Robin grimaced. "It's just hard to say. You understand..."

"Of course I do. But I don't exactly like intruding upon your mind, and right now your emotions seem to be a huge jumble. So. Tell me. What do you feel about... us?"

"We're friends. But we could be more."

Raven sighed. "I don't even see the point. What's the difference between being good friends and being girlfriend and boyfriend? You still do the same things together. You know, hang out and do stuff, tell things to each other, watch each others' backs."

"Commitment."

The violet haired girl frowned very slightly. "True. But in our case..."

"Neither of us is very social..."

"I suppose."

"And we're unlikely to find other people. Or at least, go out and actually do stuff with other people."

"I was thinking more along the lines of... never mind." Raven shook her head.

"What?"

"I... can't say it."

"Yes you can. You don't need to be afraid-"

"But I am."

"Raven, please. You can't hold everything back forever."

_I... I know I can't. But I can't say this either. It would be a dead giveaway... _"I'm not that desperate."

"That has nothing to do with being desperate."

"It does."

Robin closed his eyes. "Let's be honest here. If I told you how I felt-"

"You wouldn't."

"Try me."

"Go ahead."

Robin took a deep breath. Then deflated like a punctured balloon. "You win. I can't do it. I can't do it so directly..."

"There's a fine line between being friends and..." Raven blushed. "... lovers. And I think we're walking on it."

The other hero grinned. "So forward. Who would've thought you'd be the one making moves-"

"I'm not," Raven turned redder. "I just wondered what you felt about me."

"Um... well, we could try it out."

Raven blinked. "... what?"

"You know. Like a date. There's this new club on the far side of town. We could go there. Like... on a date. And if anyone questions us, we can just be friends there together. Unless you want them to know that-"

"No," Raven said hurriedly. "Err- no to people knowing. Um... I guess we could go. But it probably serves alcohol, right?"

"We're both 21. And I doubt Bruce would mind."

"I just wonder what kind of an effect it'll have on me. Usually alcohol does nothing to demons and my mother could also drink a fair bit without getting drunk at all, if she wanted to."

"You don't have to have any if you don't want to. Or we could just go somewhere else-"

"No, wherever you've picked is fine. So..." she said slowly. "Like a date."

"_Like _a date. We're just... testing the waters. Like you said. Fine line between being friends and... more than that. Friends also go out to clubs to hang out, so it's not even something like a big deal. Not like a fancy dinner together or anything."

"I... guess so..."

Robin sighed. "You need to relax, Rae. Everything will be fine. If it makes you uncomfortable, we don't have to be anything. But if you want more-"

"It's not about what I want. I just... don't want to hurt you." _In more ways than one. _

"The only way you'll hurt me is if you hurt yourself by being stubborn."

Raven rolled her eyes. "So cheesy..."

Robin grinned. "Can't help it. I'm being honest."

The violet haired girl looked away. "Whatever. When do you want to go?"

"Six? Or seven, it really doesn't matter. Bruce wanted to have a training session with me so it can be any time after six."

"Six is fine. Oh yeah. If I'm going out with you, I'll need a disguise and a civilian name... hmm..."

"You can just wear normal stuff. It's not really a fancy place. But as for a name... how about Ra...chel?"

"Rachel huh. I like it. Alright," she smiled slightly. "See you then."

Robin smiled back, then got up and left.

* * *

_Gotham City - Night Club _

A pair of figures got off of a motorcycle and stood outside. One of them, the shorter one, moved around nervously, and the other one turned to face her.

"What are you worried about? You look fine."

Raven frowned a little, looking down at herself. She was wearing fairly typical clothing - a black t-shirt, dark jeans, a light jacket - and nothing seemed too weird about her. A little touch of magic had made her hair black and given her skin a little more color. She looked completely normal.

"I don't know," she muttered. "Probably all the people inside. So many chaotic emotions floating around..."

"Can you shut them out?"

Raven nodded. "I'm sorry. I just haven't been anywhere like this before-"

"It's fine. We can still find somewhere else if you want-"

"No, it's okay. Let's go," she tugged at his hand.

Robin followed her inside and they were greeted by the sight of a large room, dimly lit with cool colored lighting; there was a jazz band on the stage directly across from them and on the floor there were many people dancing to the music. Spread around the sides of the room were many small tables, and through doors along the walls, there were several other rooms that were a little more well lit, with various casino-style games inside. Not surprisingly, off to their right, there was a bar and that was where they went first.

They picked up a few random appetizers, soup, fries and similar things, then found a table in the corner to sit at.

"So..." Raven tilted her head sideways. "What do people even do on dates anyway?"

"Way to be awkward."

She blushed. "Well I just wanted to know-"

Robin grinned. "I was kidding. I have no clue either."

"Oh. You've never gone out before?"

"Not for real. Usually it was just like dinner, watch a movie or something, talk, dance, that was it. Probably nothing to interest you very much."

"I like some movies..."

"What, like Wicked Scary?"

Raven glared at Robin. "No, not that one. And besides, I don't mind talking... sometimes."

Robin laughed. "You could fool me."

"I mean it!"

"Sure. But seriously, what do you want to do?"

Raven frowned. "I was being serious. We could talk. Or dance."

"... but that seems so unlike you."

"Okay, Boy Wonder. We'll just engage in deep philosophical discussion on a date... without talking."

"I see. You have a point. But still..."

"Yes, I've got it. We'll spill our hearts out to each other," Raven kept her voice a monotone, but he was used to her form of sarcasm by now. "Or," Raven stood and gestured at a room behind them. "We could play foosball."

Robin blinked for a moment, then smirked. "No. You probably suck."

Raven raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

He laughed. "Let me rephrase that. I'm probably a lot better than you."

"Wanna bet?"

"Sure. If you win, I'll buy you some fancy chocolate from the bar over there."

"You'd do that if I asked anyway."

"So?"

"Fine."

_... ten goals later... _

"It was a fluke," Robin stared disbelievingly at the scoreboard. _Ten to zero..._

Raven smirked. "You owe me some sweets."

"Best two out of three."

Raven rolled her eyes.

The next round wasn't even close either. Robin threw his hands up in the air, wondering how the hell Raven was so good at something she never even did, but then again, she was Raven. He decided not to question it and soon returned with a box of chocolate and a couple bottles of red wine.

She eyed the drink in his hand tilting her head a little, and he laughed.

"You're supposed to have some wine with it," he uncorked the bottle and poured a glass for each of them.

Raven glanced at him suspiciously. "And what makes you think you're getting any of _my _sweets?"

"Ah well I was hoping you'd share some with me..."

Raven pouted for a moment, thinking. "Fine," she said slowly, "but only if you can beat me in a game of chess."

"But that's-"

"I'll give you ten tries."

"That's still - oh, whatever."

They walked around and found a random room filled with board games, which was mostly empty and pretty silent. They sat by a chessboard and Raven absentmindedly began sipping the wine, her eyes darting across the board. Robin moved, then took a drink as well.

By the time she had beaten him ten times, they had gone through both bottles of wine and half of the chocolate - though Raven really hadn't payed attention to it; she was going to let him have some even if he hadn't won - and Robin was feeling distinctly less... tense. He looked at Raven and she had a faint blush on her face, though when she spoke, it was in the usual flat monotone.

"You lost."

"Thanks for the ego boost."

She gave him a cocky smile and he blinked in surprise at the expression on her face before he realized that maybe the alcohol was having a bit of an effect on her too.

"Anything else you want me to beat you at?"

Robin laughed. "Is that a challenge?"

"What else would it be, Boy Wonder?" she pressed a hand to his chest and stared at his eyes.

He looked down at her face and in the dim light, her skin seemed to glow with some sort of etheral whiteness - from what he could see, she was sweating lightly but strangely her scent mixed with whatever perfume she had been wearing was somewhat husky, almost intoxicating, not at all unpleasant. It was making him distinctly uncomfortable and had he not had that wine, he would've moved away by now.

But part of him was distinctly excited too, excited that Raven was loosening up a bit too and willing to have fun with him, not just hiding behind her mask all the time...

He licked his lips. "You can't possibly be good at video games. You never play."

"Usually don't like them. But you can try me. I bet I'll still win."

"Fine. But first let me go get some more stuff to drink."

Raven raised an eyebrow and he grinned sheepishly. "I'm not an alcoholic, you know. I just like the feeling of being a bit more relaxed. And don't deny it, you like it too."

She blinked in surprise but did not respond, letting him lead them toward the bar, then toward a room with a large television and a game console in front of it.

He had been right about one thing. She didn't play video games - they had never really appealed to her very much, and so she had never really had any practice with them, but that didn't mean she couldn't sympathize. That cocky, competitive side to her which was normally buried by her almost immutable self-control had bloomed brilliantly with the wine she had drunk and now she couldn't help but enjoy trying to match her skill with Robin's.

But yes, he had been right. He was better than she was... _at least at the moment he is. _

He beat her a few times at a racing game and looked over, smirking; she glared a him and stared at the screen, focusing harder, managing to beat him and some sort of fighting game that was ironically based on them and their abilities. Another one, an exploration RPG-style one with several puzzles; this one, they had to work together on, and not surprisingly, their teamwork was mostly flawless except for the one time he 'accidentally' shoved her in a pool of magma...

But the crucial thing that she realized - or maybe didn't realize - was the fact that they had continued drinking and she could feel her self control fading slightly. Maybe it wasn't necessarily the self control, but her emotions definitely were pushing at her barriers a little harder than they normally did. Curiously though, Rage's voice seemed to be completely drowned out and instead, Brave and Happy were at the front, cheering her on as she beat Robin again, and then as she took another sip, Love and Lust added their voices to the mix and she had to turn away for a moment. It was not uncomfortable, but... unfamiliar. She knew she could let them out if she wanted to, but... _I'm afraid. What happens if I let my emotions run loose. Even if I don't show them, even if I just allow myself to feel a bit of... anything and don't let it show... what kind of an effect will it have? _

"Raven? Raven, helloo?"

"Yes?" she breathed out.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine. It's just..."

"Your emotions?"

She nodded.

Robin set down his controller. "You can let it out a bit, you know. You don't need to show anything if you don't want to. Just... let yourself feel something. Anything."

Raven smiled slightly. "You're weird, you know that?"

"How so?"

"One moment you're telling me you should be better than me at all these things, and the next, you're being all caring and stuff..."

"Caring and stuff... great word choice."

Raven blushed. Robin grinned.

"There's a time for jokes and there's a time for being serious. Though, I thought you said you didn't want to be too serious tonight. You wanted to have fun."

"Yes," she sighed. "But unfortunately with fun comes emotion and that's not something I have an easy time dealing with. Fortunately none of the nastier ones seem to be bugging me..."

"Whenever you want to go back, just tell me."

"You can't drive with all that alcohol in your system."

"I'll get Alfred to pick us up then."

Raven rolled her eyes. "Well I still feel fine. Pretty good, actually."

"So what do you want to do then?"

"Ah, well," her cheeks were practically flaming now. "Maybe we could... dance?"

He blinked in surprise. "Never thought I'd hear that from you."

"I'm not clumsy you know."

"Didn't say you were. But it's just unexpected... oh, never mind. I would be happy to oblige."

She got up first, wobbled a little and he eyed all the empty bottles around them. "Maybe we had a bit too much..."

Raven snorted. "Nonsense. You're the one who bought them all and now you're beginning to have second thoughts?"

"Women _do _metabolize alcohol more slowly than men do."

"I'm also half demon. Come on, get your ass up off the ground."

She held a hand out and he took it - she pulled him surprisingly forcefully toward the dance floor, where the crowd was noticeably thinner than before. Robin glanced up at the clock and was surprised - they had left the manor at seven, and it was already a little past midnight - but that thought quickly exited his mind when he looked back at her.

The music in the background was slow and peaceful, and Raven had her eyes closed as she swung her body to the rhythm. It surprised him that she seemed so much more uninhibited than she normally was; even if her face was still smooth and expressionless, he wouldn't have thought that she was the type to show any emotion, even with her body, but then again, he was learning new things about her every day. And this particular fact was not at all unpleasant.

She pressed closer to him and he looked down. She seemed a lot smaller than she normally did, a lot more human, a lot less unapproachable now that she was actually in his arms. The alcohol had lent a bit of color to her skin and her skin glistened faintly with moisture - but more noticeably, her scent had shifted somewhat and there was a certain musk to it that was easily identifiable, even if he had never smelled it before - by pure instinct, he knew what it was. Her scent, her body, soft beneath his hands, but firm with smooth muscles, her face... he could not help but feel a bit _excited, _but even with the amount of alcohol that he had had, he still kept his wits about him. His instincts growled, but his mind forced them back and he ignored his body's desires.

She pushed her hips against him, and feeling something a little... unexpected... she opened her eyes a sliver, but she sensed his tightening self control and smiled - Robin would never take advantage of her, no matter what kind of state either of them were in, and she was grateful for that. He could've pushed it, but truthfully he didn't need to because even if he didn't know it, she was already his...

Suddenly she realized that his face was only a couple inches away from hers and something in her purred. From the depths of her abdomen, it growled at her, pushing her forward, and with it came a strange sense of heat and excitement... impulsively, she complied and leaned in, closing the little gap that remained there and brushed her lips over his, just a slight graze at first, then after another moment, sensing no protest, their lips made contact again and this time she managed to push her way into his mouth... her emotions roared at her - she pulled back, as if stunned, feeling her mental barriers nearly crash down. _Shit. Almost went too far. That was too close. That was bad- _

"Raven? Did I-"

"No," she whispered. "I - I wasn't ready-"

"Raven, I'm sorry. I didn't mean-"

"No," she repeated. "It wasn't your fault. I... think I just had a little too much to drink. I wasn't prepared. Just..." she took a deep breath. "Let me go outside to get a breath of fresh air." She moved away from his grasp, then looked back. "Robin, please. It wasn't your fault. I tried pushing it too far. Just give me a moment."

He nodded, still a little shaken, but let her go and watched as she disappeared out through the doors.

* * *

She felt her head spin, but the cool air helped calm her roiling emotions somewhat. She staggered outside and walked one way a little bit before sitting down against a nearby wall, not knowing or caring where she was.

_Control. Control. If I had let my emotions out there... that could have been disastrous. I could have killed someone. Ugh. Why did I let it go so far? I can't - I can't be dangerous. I have to... _she clenched her hands into fists. _Maybe I should just relax. Calm down for now. Azarath metrion zinthos. Azarath metrion zinthos. Azarath metrion zintho- _

"Feeling better, my dear?"

Raven's eyes flew open. _This voice... _"Brother Blood," she gasped, trying to back away. "What are you-"

"Now now, my dear," he moved toward her slowly, trying not to frighten her. "Don't run."

"But I... we-"

"You thought you got rid of me? Please," as he stepped into her field of vision, she saw that he was back to being fully human; all the cybernetic parts of his body that he had previously added on were gone. And he seemed stronger. A lot stronger. "Your father and I had a nice long chat. I was supposed to be his main agent in this world, but unfortunately I was incapacitated at the time, so he had to find a replacement."

"Slade."

"Ah yes. Well after that whole fiasco, I really was hoping that he would notice me a bit more. I was one of his favored, you know-"

"You were, until I killed him."

Brother Blood's eyes darkened. "Yes, well we intend to change that."

"So you found some new minions to do your bidding."

"Yes, yes, you can think of it that way. I do not know why the Master ordered me not to make a move against you earlier, but it really did cost him... ah, well it seems that it's time to rectify that..." Brother Blood's eyes glowed red. "Say your prayers, little girl-"

Raven brought a swift knee up into his crotch and the old man doubled over. She kicked him back then moved quickly, trying to pin him against a wall, but then suddenly someone dragged her back and slammed her against the ground. Her vision exploded in bright light and she felt a pair of hands seize her shoulders.

"Azarath metrion zinthos!" Raven shouted her mantra and threw everything around her back.

She ran forward, but someone caught her collar and choked her, dragging her down again. Brother Blood's face appeared above her, and behind them there were two shadows - his helpers, she supposed.

"Now now, dear," his voice was a little bit strained when he spoke. "If you don't struggle, this will be much easier."

"Get away from me you sadistic creep," Raven spit in his face and summoned her powers again, throwing them back. "Azarath metrion zinthos!"

Darkness spread, restraining the three men, but Brother Blood's eyes glowed and canceled her powers. A second later, a powerful blast of energy flew toward her and she blocked it, eyes darting around as she saw the other two approach from both sides. She formed a barrier, but it was canceled again and they were upon her.

She side stepped a punch, striking back with a kick, then dodged another attack and backed away.

"Azarath-"

"Too slow," Brother Blood emerged from behind her and clamped a hand over her mouth.

She sent an elbow back into his stomach and he grunted in pain. Another one, then two and he let go of her. Raven staggered forward, then tilted her head up, barely avoiding a kick. She spread her hands, blasting the two men back and turned back to Brother Blood, who had disappeared again.

"Teleportation, telepathy, energy, mind control, I have all the powers that you do, save for empathy. How can you hope to beat me?"

"You're a decrepit old man," Raven hissed, looking around warily. "Were it not for your two-"

"But I have them here, and plenty more where they came from."

Raven turned up as two more figures joined the fray, jumping down toward her from a nearby rooftop. The violet haired girl dodged, spun quickly as she sensed three more come up behind her, then blasted them back, turning again as she sensed another four...

She froze in place, still holding up a hand glowing with black energy, eyes still glowing with power.

"Give it up, will you?" Brother Blood appeared from behind the circle of men surrounding her.

"Never," Raven hissed. "What makes you think I'll go down without a fight?"

"Oh, we don't plan to kill you, Raven. That was never the intention."

"Then what was?"

"You see," Brother Blood's eyes gleamed, "as you probably figured out, we intend to resurrect the Master using human souls."

"That'll never -"

"Of course not. Now if you'll stop interrupting me, I can explain a little more quickly," the villain cleared his throat. "You see, human souls would never suffice to replace that of a demon's, especially not a demon lord's. However, in terms of sheer energy, if you collect enough of them, it is possible to replace a demon soul, at least power-wise. The only thing lacking then is demon blood."

Raven thought for a moment, then her eyes widened. "So you mean... kill a bunch of people, then kill me for my blood-"

"We don't even need to kill you, though rest assured, we fully mean to. Of course, that means we also have to go through the meddlesome process of forcing you into demon form, but I have a certain spell for that-"

Raven's eyes narrowed. "Then why don't you force me to become a demon right here? Take my blood and get it over with?"

"Patience, dear girl. We still require a couple dozen more souls."

The demoness frowned. _He's hesitating a little. So there must be some sort of cost associated with forcing me to become a demon. _

"Sharp as ever," Brother Blood muttered. "You got it right. It is rather... taxing on me to perform the spell, and demons are unpredictable. However, we do have other means..."

"If you can even take me to begin with," Raven growled, raising her other hand.

Brother Blood laughed. "What nonsense. Fine. If you refuse to come peacefully, we shall do things the hard way. Get her!"

The circle of men around her closed in, but Raven kept calm and let her energy fester inside of her for a moment before releasing it out. Throwing them all back, she charged straight for the old man in front of her, but someone caught her wrist and bent downward.

She bit her lip to keep from screaming as she felt some of the bones snap. The pain surged through her and her legs seemed to turn to jelly; she collapsed toward the ground as her assailant let go. She clutched her hand, feeling her wrist throb painfully, but that feeling was soon overshadowed as she felt someone kick her head viciously. Raven nearly blacked out and let her body lay there limp, even when someone lifted her head up by her hair.

"Think she's out?"

"Perhaps," Brother Blood's voice sounded. "But just to be sure..." he reached a couple fingers toward her forehead.

Instantly, Raven's eyes snapped open and she summoned the little energy that remained inside her. But as she drew it up from her body, the pain in her wrist and head pulsed again and she gritted her teeth, losing control of the magic streaming out of her.

Tendrils of darkness swarmed everywhere, and even as Brother Blood's eyes glowed, trying to cancel Raven's powers, the sheer amount of energy emanating from her was too much for him to handle and he was thrown back.

The violet haired girl clutched her head, gasping for breath. She staggered forward, nearly falling, but at least this time there was nobody to hit her again. Her eyes opened a sliver and she saw a bunch of bodies laying around her, many of them bleeding, but at this point she didn't care whether they were alive or dead; the pain in her body was hard enough to manage while still staying conscious.

_I have to get out of here... _she put a hand to a nearby wall, trying to stay standing. But then someone hit her on the back of the head again and she collapsed to her knees.

"Night night, dear Raven."

* * *

Robin paced back and forth restlessly. He glanced up at the clock, then back down toward his hands. _Where is she? It's already been half an hour. Should I go look for her? What if something happened... but if she just wants to be alone, won't she get mad at me? After all, I almost made her lose control... I- I messed up. I shouldn't have done that... besides, she's Raven. She can feel it when people sneak up on her like a mile away. Even if Gotham's dangerous for normal people, it'll take more than just a mugger to take her down. Hell, even the Joker would have a hard time doing it and he doesn't know that she's here._

_I shouldn't be so worried. I just need to give her some time. She's probably just a little stressed. I shouldn't intrude. I-_

Suddenly, he felt a wave of intense pain sear through his body and he clutched his head, gasping. _What the... _Robin looked at his hands, then patted his own body, wondering where the sudden sensation had come from. Feeling nothing, he frowned. And then the realization hit him. _Raven! _He ran out of the building into the darkness toward the direction where the bond was guiding him.

* * *

There were many piles of ashes on the ground in the area that he passed through, but no sign of people. Frowning, he looked around and caught sight of something shiny in one of the piles.

It was a watch. _So does that mean... these are the remains of burnt people? Oh god. Did Raven... no. I can still feel her through the bond. But where is she? _

There was a flash of darkness nearby and a moment later, an old man was sent flying into a building wall. Robin's eyes flashed as he recognized who it was and he rushed over, grabbing the man by the collar.

"Brother Blood!"

"Get off of me!" the man swatted his hand aside, but Robin merely punched him in the face.

"What have you done with-"

"R-Richard!" Raven gasped, and the hero turned.

"Raven!" Robin looked up, seeing a pair of pained violet eyes in the darkness, but other than that he couldn't quite make her out in the inky black.

He turned back to Brother Blood, then back at Raven, and back again.

"I don't know who you are, but I-"

"Shut it!" Robin punched him again. "I'm going to-" he broke off as Brother Blood's eyes glowed red and he was thrown back by a blast of red energy.

Robin got up quickly, looking like he was going to attack, but Brother Blood surprisingly backed away, no more than a faint shadow in the darkness.

"Very well then. Another time, when it will be more... convenient to pick you up. Until then, farewell, demon."

"Wait!"

Brother Blood turned slightly. "You might want to take care of your girlfriend before she dies on you, young man," and with that, he was gone.

Behind him, someone dropped to the ground and Robin rushed toward her quickly, turning pale as he saw Raven's bloodied body laying on the ground in front of him. He knelt quickly, holding her in his arms and smoothed her hair out of her face.

"Raven, I'm so sorry-"

"Robin, stop," she whispered. "Everything's fine-"

"No it's not! You're hurt, you got attacked by the Church of Blood, Brother Blood's back, you're hurt, I messed up, I didn't help you, you're hurt-"

"You said that already," she gave him a wry smile, but then winced and cradled her broken wrist, trying not to cry with all of the pain burning in her body.

Robin sighed. "If I had come faster... I thought you wanted to be alone..."

"I... said it's fine," she murmured back. "I..." her voice trailed off as she faded in and out of consciousness. "Talk... later... let me heal... first..."

"Raven-"

But she was already unconscious. Robin closed his eyes.

"Sorry for such a horrible first date. Didn't quite work out like we planned, huh."

Shaking his head, he took out his phone and called Alfred, all the while staring at the senseless, hurt girl in his arms. Briefly, he wondered if she would forgive him for being such an idiot, but he decided not to think about it at the moment. Instead, he merely contented himself with sitting in the dark, holding Raven's lithe, unmoving form, hoping that she wasn't hurt too badly. Praying that she wasn't. But right now the darkness was his only solace...


End file.
